L-R Christel Sands Feaste, partner in Higgs & Johnson; Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce President, Thomas Sands Jr. and TCL President, Joan Albury. (Photo/Zhivago McPhee)

NASSAU, Bahamas – Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Sands Jr. is expressing “great hope and optimism” for Eleuthera – an island that has essentially been in a recession for more than 30 years.

Mr. Sands, who is just one of several speakers slated to address the 2^nd Annual Eleuthera Business Outlook (EBO) on April 24, noted that Eleuthera has had its challenges over the years.

He said the island was in a recession for three decades with “a moment of blip on the heart monitor” between 2004 and 2007 before the Great Recession hit.

“We believe that The Bahamas is beginning to emerge out of what was one of the toughest recessions so there is great hope and optimism for Eleuthera and the Family Islands that we are seeing the way forward,” said Mr. Sands during a news conference at The Cousellors Ltd. (TCL), the organiser of the EBO conference.

“In that process it is very important to dialogue, to understand and begin to plan for the future and identify the opportunities so that Bahamians truly participate in the development of the country, that they also embrace new knowledge new partnerships from within the country and from overseas to make that happen. It’s very important for the Bahamas Government to do its part by creating the environment conducive to that growth and addressing the challenges that are unique to the Family Islands.

Mr. Sands said the Eleuthera Chamber is pleased to partner with TCL to host the Outlook conference.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to provide exposure to the communities of Eleuthera and to the businesses. Our goal is to do that throughout the island. Every part of the island is a little bit more diverse from one area to the other; the economies are slightly different,” he said.

“It’s important not only for The Bahamas Government to understand, but also internationally to understand the opportunities, the challenges and possibilities for the future. We have a great mix of people, from developers, who have developed in the Family Islands who have seen some of the challenges, but also we hope to offer to young entrepreneurs a sense of what is to come for the island of Eleuthera, what are the potential opportunities and how we must prepare for the future.”

TCL President, Joan Albury noted that the Eleuthera conference will bring together a diversified group of speakers who will discuss tourism, entrepreneurship, agriculture, community development and VAT.

Christel Sands Feaste, partner in Higgs & Johnson, will be focusing on the soon-to-be-implemented value-added tax (VAT). However, she noted that her presentation will be with a specific Family Island emphasis.

“[I’ll also discuss] the implications for Family Islands like Eleuthera and the businesses – the practical implications and what it means for the way of doing business; what it means for vacation rentals, second home owners, what it means for the ‘mom and pop’ shops and whether they will have to register for VAT,” she said.

“So the focus is really a good overview with practical examples that are applicable to persons in the Family Islands so that they are informed, they have the opportunity to ask questions and they feel that they have some insight into what is proposed at the moment.”

Vice President and Managing Director of the Sand Piper Inn and Destination Schooner Bay Ltd, James Malcolm will also discuss lessons he has learned during the development of some of his past projects.

“. . . Having come out of a very tough recession we’ve built a unique place designed and inspired by a visionary who is now focusing his efforts in Eleuthera,” said Mr. Malcolm.

“So, I’ve come to the table as a speaker to share a little bit about what we’ve learned and how we see ourselves going forward and how Bahamians have played a big part in our investment. We’re not a big brand, we’re not a foreign entity, we are Bahamians who own homes and businesses and we are building a real place that focuses on tourism and empowers Bahamians to take part in that.”

Bahamian-owned booking engine, BahamaGo is also partnering with TCL to provide travel accommodations to all of the attendees for the conference.

“So, persons can actually visit our website and be able to do a booking to any of the Family Islands with any of our Bahamian travel airlines,” said BahamaGo Director, Tony Hanna.

“They’ll be able to book with SkyBahamas, Bahamasair, Southern Air, Pineapple Air, Le-Air, Western Air or Flamingo Air. We’re always gracious with working with The Counsellors. We’ve been assisting them with many of the past Business Outlooks in providing travel accommodations, hotel accommodations as well in real time for persons attending the Outlook. We’re certain that this year, once persons have already registered for the Outlook, they would be able to conduct a seamless real time booking with airline as well as hotel accommodations in Rock Sound or in other parts of Eleuthera, so we welcome the attendees to spend the night, see the beauties of Eleuthera, take a load off and just relax in Eleuthera for a while.”

The 2^nd Annual Eleuthera Business Outlook is set for Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. at the Cape Eleuthera Resort, South Eleuthera.

Prime Minister Perry Christie will deliver the keynote address and will speak to the theme, “Charting a Course for Growth in Eleuthera.”

Some of the other speakers slated to address the 2014 Eleuthera Business Outlook are: Angela Cleare, founder, ABC Tours & Consulting Co.; Christopher Maxey, founder and director, Cape Eleuthera Island School; Arinthia Komolafe, managing director, The Bahamas Development Bank and Edrin Symonette, Agriculture.