The University of The Bahamas (UB), the Tourism Development Corporation and the Ministry of Tourism have  collaborated to hold a half-day forum on Community Based Tourism (CBT) with focus on Empowering Bahamians, Encouraging Entrepreneurship.

The idea behind the initiative, held at the Franklyn R Wilson Graduate Center  is to advance, grow and help develop the country. 

UB Provost, Dr. Linda Davis said the forum was all about  nation building. 

“Indeed it is what the University of The Bahamas was created to do; to provide this kind of forum to engage these kinds of conversation that are about nation building [and] about investment in human resources.

“We do this in any number of ways, but this particular project, I believe, brings to bear a kind of discussion and dialogue, which we hope will bring fruit in perhaps ways we have not otherwise considered,” Dr. Davis said.  

During the forum, experts shared and discussed what could be implemented, in a stronger and better way to sustain entrepreneurs in the Tourism sector. 

Malaysian  native, Dean of Graduate Studies and Research and professor of Sustainable Tourism at UB, Dr. Vikneswaran, whose published worldwide in Sustainable Tourism, presented a CBT model Toolkit for The Bahamas. 

“If you look at the whole concept of Community Based Tourism this is Tourism activity that is community owned; this is a key thing, it must be community owned, operated and managed at the level of the community, this is critical. 

“When you talk about CBT,  it is one of the earliest sustainable way of conducting Tourism.

“It is when you first started opening your door to tourist to come and stay, view your lifestyle, view your culture, and this is what you have been doing. 

“You had the ‘People to People’ program in the past, that is part of  CBT as well. You may have not called it CBT at that point, but CBT has always been here.

“So, what we are trying to do is bring you a different perspective of how you can take this model step by step to sustain you,” Dr. Nair explained.

Dr. Nair added that CBT can actually help eliminate poverty.

“It contributes back to the well-being of a community and also support sustainable livelihood, and personal heritage can actually be maintained. 

“Tourism activities managed and operated by the community for the community fully coordinated for/by the community one of the early forms of tourism,” he added.

CBT is not a new concept as tourist activities such as bone fishing and Exuma’s swimming pigs were birthed out of communities together.