New BHTA Leadership Inherits Strong Tourism Performance
The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) has announced a changing of the guard on a high note, with strong performance in all areas of tourism. Robert ‘Sandy’ Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice president of external and governmental affairs, is stepping down as BHTA president, making way for Jackson Weech, vice president and general manager of Atlantis Royal Towers.
The changing of the guard was revealed during the BHTA’s annual general meeting yesterday.
“For first quarter of 2025, similar to Atlantis, we should achieve occupancies similar to what we achieved certainly in 2024.”
Jackson Weech, incoming president of the BHTA, and vice president and general manager of Atlantis Royal Towers, said: “Atlantis, like the wider industry, certainly our first two quarters were stellar. They were pacing very well. Then, of course, we started to run into some headwinds. We successfully came through those headwinds.
“We had concerns as it relates to announcements in respect of hurricanes, for the wider industry and for the wider region. Then secondly, traditionally what tends to happen is there is a contraction with the US election. So we ran into those things again, and we successfully came through it.”
Weech added: “The holiday bookings are robust, they’re looking good. I think Sandy would have spoken about Baha Mar in the same vein, and that is what we’ve seen in terms of growth, certainly for our Q1 of 2025 we seem to be almost replicating what happened this year.”
Joy Jibrilu, Nassau and Paradise Island Promotion Board (NPIPB) chief executive officer, added: “This past year has been one of innovation and resilience for the NPIPB. Our industry remains strong and optimistic as we look forward to finishing the year on a high note.”
She added: “We launched ta revamped website, which continues to be a powerful tool to drive in demand to our destination. The new design is modern, user friendly and appealing to visitors worldwide.
“I’m pleased to report our website’s performance has continued to see remarkable growth over the past year. Total visitors to nassauparadiseisland.com increased by 16.5 percent year over year, reaching 10.5 billion to date.
“Visitors are not only coming to our site in greater numbers, but they’re also spending more time exploring engaging content and discovering deals.
“Additionally, and important for our members, links out to our member hotel websites experienced a 12.6 percent boost, totaling an impressive 1.7 million, driving direct traffic and bookings for our partners.”
The Nassau Guardian
