Tourist Mango Card Launched by Bahamas MOT and TSP.

Caption: The Ministry of Tourism and Aviation and Transfer Service Providers (TSP) seal their partnership with a handshake. Pictured (from left) are Raymond Harrison, General Manager of Tours and Entertainment in Ministry of Tourism & Aviation; Vernice Walkine, Director General of Tourism; Julian Francis, TSP Chairman and Dr. Johnathan Rodgers, TSP President. (Photo: Derek Smith/BIS)

(Nassau, Bahamas) - The Ministry of Tourism and Aviation has partnered with Transfer Solution Providers Ltd. (TSP) to launch the new Tourist Mango Card.

The Tourist Mango Cards allows for cashless financial transactions with merchants. Visitors or other individuals who purchase the cards can make payments for services or to purchase goods. The cards will be available for purchase in varying amounts, up to $100.

Vernice Walkine, Director General of Tourism, said the tourism professionals in the Bahamas are always seeking to exceed the expectations of guests. The card will allow this to be accomplished through enhanced safety and convenience, she said.

“Visitors to the Bahamas will be able to make transactions with added convenience and in a much safer environment due to the electronic payment system offered by this Bahamian software and technology company,” Ms. Walkine said. “The safety of the card has benefits that will outlast our guests’ time in the Bahamas. When they return home, we will be the beneficiaries of an enhanced reputation due to the improved safety that these electronic payments will provide. We want to always be seen as a safe destination in which visitors move about freely. They can window shop and make purchases without hassle and without falling victim to crime.”

Dr. Johnathan Rodgers, president of TSP, said 85 cents of every tourist dollar eventually leaves the Bahamas. In the case of arrivals by sea, estimates are as high as $13 leaving the country for each dollar that remains, he said.

“This really shows that there is a tremendous leakage of moneys out of the Bahamas and this economic model is not sustainable,” he said. “We have a GDP of about $6 billion and tourism accounts for 60 percent of that GDP. If we can increase the amount of money that stays here by five cents, this will translate into another $1.2 billion staying in the Bahamian economy every year, and this is almost as much as government makes in total every year.”

Julian Francis, chairman of TSP, said the Bahamas has not maximized the economic possibilities of the tourism business. He said there is a market of roughly 4.5 million tourists coming to the Bahamas every year, and they provide business that Bahamians can tap.

Mr. Francis said tourists are used to the convenience of cashless transactions in their home countries. He believed that they would be eager to utilize the Tourist Mango Card while visiting the Bahamas.

TSP estimated that the Tourist Mango card will be available within two months.