After the captain of Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas warned travelers about rising crime rates in Nassau, Bahamas, a government official is denying the allegations.
In his letter to Nassau-bound cruisers, Capt. Srecko Ban advised those passengers going ashore in Nassau to avoid certain parts of the port city in which a variety of petty crimes had occurred. Informed of the letter, Dionisio D’Aguilar, Minister of Tourism, denied the charges and speculated as to ways Bahamas could "deal with negative perceptions."
D’Aguilar added that in many talks with cruise industry officials, of which reps from Royal Caribbean, none of those concerns had ever been brought up for discussion.
He concluded by suggesting that increased police presence might help locals and tourists to feel safer, and that media coverage of violent crimes taking place away from the center of tourism help contribute to the sense that Bahamas is "more dangerous than it actually is."