SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – Less than a week ago, the U.S. State Department issued a warning about traveling to the Bahamas because of a spike in violent crime, but are people heeding that advisory, especially as many head to the Caribbean this time of year?
As thousands seek a break from the cold of winter with some fun in the sun, the State Department issued a travel advisory for the Bahamas and told visitors to “exercise increased caution” because of a spike in violent crime. The warning comes during the height of tourist season for the island nation and as the U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas cited 18 murders since just the start of the year in Nassau, the Bahamian capital. Doreen Coakley-Rodriguez, owner of Doreen’s Going Places Travel Services in Springfield, told Western Mass News that she has a lot of clients already booked for trips to the Bahamas and her phone’s been ringing because of it.
“I have quite a few couples traveling in May there and they’re concerned. You know, their attitude is it’s supposed to be safe. It’s one of the great locations. It’s so close to the U.S. It’s easy to travel to…so they’re worried,” Coakley-Rodriguez noted.
Right now, the State Department isn’t saying to cancel or reconsider your travel to the Bahamas. The country is currently at a travel level 2, which indicates exercise increased caution. Officials are saying, however, to not answer your door at your hotel or residence unless you know who it is, don’t physically resist any robbery attempt, and do enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency. Even with those precautions though, some are still leery and want to leave their options open.
“Their question is, ‘If it gets any worse, can we cancel? Are we able to cancel?’ Those are just checking in and I agree with that. When you have credit insurance or liability insurance, you have that option and they just wanted to see if they have that option if it gets to a point where they really don’t feel comfortable with traveling to the Bahamas,” Coakley-Rodriguez explained.
U.S. officials noted that, at this point, most of the violence is gang-on-gang, especially the homicides, and it’s primarily affecting the local population and not tourists. Still, they remind everyone to remain vigilant, especially where private security companies don’t have a presence.
Authorities in the Bahamas said they are cracking down on crime after the State Department issued the security alert warning.
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