Speaking at a recent CTO conference (CTC-26), on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas (USVI), Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace Bahamas Director-general Ministry of Tourism, released details of a new initiative that is å‘unique to the Bahamaså’.
The initiative allows visitors thoughts and comments of their experience of the Bahamas to be printed in national newspapers. Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace commented; “tourism is the only industry where everybody is included no matter what”. 
Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace went on to note that around eighty percent of tourists are completing the exit survey that correlates the information included in the newspapers. “This is not guess work, this is actual fact. We now know much more about our customer”, Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace added.
The ‘voice of the visitor’ has brought certain issues to light. Generally visitors have found their reception to be fantastic in hotels and resorts, yet on the street it has been a different matter entirely. “We must work to educate everybody, especially the people on the street”, continued Vanderpool.
The new format is touted as being so advanced that it can pinpoint complaints to specific hotels instead of just islands as before. Information generally takes four days to correlate.
Although many positive points were risen by the Bahamas Tourism Board occupancy results for September were disappointing for Paradise Island and Nassau.
Five of the major hotels on New Providence and Paradise Island reported occupancy rates below 30 per cent with South Ocean Golf and Beach Resort reporting the most disappointing results.
Only four of the larger resorts on the islands saw occupancy results above 50 per cent.
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(04/09/03) Benjamin Davies new VP and GM at Radisson Cable Beach, Bahamas

(28/10/03) Scientists discover cancer treating sponge off Bahamas coast

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