A few days ago, Disney released a new website detailing plans for Lighthouse Point, a brand new private destination for Cruise Line guests. Located on Eleuthera, a thin Bahamian island featuring pink sand beaches, historical landmarks, and undeveloped, natural landscapes; Disney has stated that Lighthouse Point will “create sustainable economic opportunities for Bahamians, protect and sustain the natural beauty of the site, celebrate culture, and help strengthen the community in Eleuthera.”
While the new website still contains mostly generic and boiler-plate information, you can see affirmations of Disney’s intention in every paragraph. For example, through a competitive bidding process Disney hired a Bahamian company, Enco International (Bahamas) Ltd., to conduct geotechnical investigations at Lighthouse Point prior to construction. Lighthouse Point is also expected to create 120 construction jobs and 150 operations positions in addition to Bahamian vendors allowed to conduct business within the site. Disney has also announced that Bahamian residents and citizens will be allowed into the site for non-commercial reasons.
Beyond benefiting the people of the Bahamas, environmental conservation is vitally important to Disney – during this or any other construction project undertaken by the company. Current plans only include the development of approximately 20% of the purchased land, and remember that some of that “development” only consists of a few beach chairs and umbrellas. Disney has already donated 190 acres of the land back to the Bahamian government and people for their own preservation and heritage.
And speaking of heritage, Lighthouse Point will be designed to reflect the authentic culture of the Bahamas. Joe Rohde, the Creative Executive for Lighthouse Point, has been working with local artists to create an environment and experience reflecting Bahamian perspective. See the video below to watch Mr. Rohde describe the project.
While Disney has yet to reveal detailed plans for the destination’s attractions and experienctial offerings, we can glean some information from the company’s proposed site map. On the map, you can clearly see plans for an art and cultural center, spa, nature trails, and lookout tower.
While I understand that some may be conflicted about Disney’s decision to purchase additional Bahamian land, I am supportive of the decision and excited to see the outcome. Few other companies would take such care to offset their footprint with conservation efforts and cultural consideration.
Lighthouse Point construction is planned to begin this year with a proposed opening date of 2022-2023!
