By: Staff Writer
January 30, 2024
The United States Department of State has issued a Level 2 travel advisory for travelers planning on going to the Bahamas.
The state department cites the murder count being in the double digits for the first month of the year, now at 19, as a reason why their citizens should exercise caution when visiting The Bahamas, particularly the capital city of Nassau, New Providence.
“Gang-on-gang violence has resulted in a high homicide rate primarily affecting the local population,” the advisory reads, calling out the most-affected islands of New Providence, including Nassau and Grand Bahama, where Freeport is located.
“Violent crime, such as burglaries, armed robberies, and sexual assaults, occur in both tourist and non-tourist areas. Be vigilant when staying at short-term vacation rental properties where private security companies do not have a presence.”
The advisory also said that activities involving “commercial recreational watercraft, including water tours, are not consistently regulated. Watercraft may be poorly maintained, and some operators may not have safety certifications. Always review and heed local weather and marine alerts before engaging in water-based activities. Commercial watercraft operators have discretion to operate their vessels regardless of weather forecasts; injuries and fatalities have occurred. Due to these safety concerns, U.S. government personnel are not permitted to use independently operated jet-ski rentals on New Providence and Paradise Islands.”
Officials are not concerned about the advisory. The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that said: “While we acknowledge that states have a right to inform their citizens traveling abroad about potential risks, we do not believe that there is any elevated or increased security risk to tourists traveling to The Bahamas.
“We encourage all of our visitors to come to The Bahamas. We believe that anyone visiting The Bahamas for tourism or business should take the normal prudent precautions that any visitor to a large city in the developed world will take.”
Further, Prime Minister Philip Davis was reported to have said that he does not think the warning will affect tourism either.