The late Jim Bacchus served Guyanese travelers well

May 06, 2020 Letters

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Dear Editor,

It is with sadness I read of the passing of Mr. Jim Bacchus, owner of the travel agency of same name. His name is widely known. He is remembered for his service to Guyanese and other West Indian travelers. I remember well his agency in Howard Beach, Queens that served the needs of the large West Indian community. Jim Bacchus was well respected in the travel industry. Many knew the name perhaps more than any other agency. He, the individual, had a stamp on his agency among clientele. The Guyanese and West Indian American travel industry has lost a good man.

I learned about Jim Bacchus Travel in the community newspapers in the mid 1980s when he took advertisements promoting his business. I used to write for several community papers from the late 1970s and Jim supported some of the papers. Guyanese and other Caribbean nationals looked forward for the publications and patronized that travel business, among others.

Jim, as he was popularly called, was a salesperson, a marketer, a promoter of his product, an accountant, a secretary, and a customer service rep all wrapped into one. He had high standards for sales service and was a professional in every sense of the word. He was excited and passionate about his service and never disappointed. People knew him very well for exceptional service and maintained their loyalty to that agency for decades. Every client of his spoke well of the man.
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Jim put in some forty years in the business in New York providing a vital service to West Indians and at a time when there were hardly any Guyanese travel agencies in NY. People of all ethnicities did business with Jim Bacchus, and he patronized all communities with which he did business. He produced huge volumes of sales for BWIA (later CAL), Guyana Airways (that was not reliable), Universal, North American, Delta, and others and received appropriate recognitions, citations, and awards from them. Agents of these carriers would regularly visit it on strategies to boost sales and his commission revenues and thanking him for the business.

He knew of me through my writings and found time for interactions when I first phoned him and later visited his office. He wanted to meet me in person for my courageous writings on Guyana and the diaspora in America and to praise my efforts in the struggle for the restoration of democracy in the homeland. Because of the nature of his business and not wanting to alienate clients, he did not dabble publicly in politics or made his political views known, but he spoke in confidence with me and knew he could trust me about his views. He poked fun at corrupt Guyanese politicians. He condemned electoral fraud and the authoritarian regime of 1960s thru 1992. He respected Dr. Jagan and his wife for their honesty but not their ideology that brought so much destruction to Guyana. He was most disappointed with politicians especially those who championed socialism or communism and bankrupted the economy. He cheered Jagan for moving towards market economics after his return to office in 1992. Jim recognized, as did many of us, it was the tussle over power and communist ideology that wrecked the country and drove people like Jim, myself and hundreds of thousands of other Guyanese to migrate to America and other countries.

In NY, Jim took great care to build his travel clientele. He had the expertise in the industry. Jim sold air tickets to Trinidad, Jamaica, and other destinations. He grew his business and was at one time the leading travel agency in New York for Caribbean nationals. I saw Jim at several holiday events and travel promotions in Manhattan, Queens, and Long Island. He was invited to some rare and exclusive events, including one where Butch Stewart (of Sandals and Air Jamaica) was honored, at which I was invited among a few media persons. I recall Jim’s agency winning trips and prizes. I was invited to several trip promotions to Jamaica and Jim’s agents were there, but I don’t recall if he was on any of several trips I took to Jamaica in the late 1980s and early 1990s organized by Jamaica Tourist Board with flights arranged by Air Jamaica.

Jim was a down-to-earth person, a gentleman, simple, humorous, cheerful, and helpful on virtually any matter. He loved interaction when time permitted. One could not meet a nicer person. He was also a man of integrity. The West Indian community would want to thank him for the years of dedicated service in a business for which there was not much money to be earned. He remained committed to serving people. The traveling public will miss his nice, warm, charming smile and laughter, his good-humored nature, and his expertise.

Yours truly,
Dr. Vishnu Bisram

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