Increased Accommodations Needed For Stopover Visitors
Jackson Weech, responding to the Central Bank’s recently released Monthly Economic and Financial Developments (MEFD) report for February, which said that stopovers are down by 4.7 percent compared to the same period last year – and the reason for that is the country doesn’t have enough hotel rooms – said: “The statistics illustrated in the MEFD report for February 2025 aptly reflects the reality that The Bahamas is continuing to experience an exponential increase in sea arrivals due to the booming cruise industry, while the more lucrative stopover visitor market is experiencing a period of stagnation, and/or depletion of arrival figures, as presented in the report and in the visitor arrival figures provided by the research and statistics department of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation.
“While recognizing cruise passengers do contribute to the economy of the destination, it is important that we continue to advance and enhance efforts to entice the higher spending ‘air arrival’ passengers to visit the islands of The Bahamas.
“We must also continue to focus on ‘filling in the gaps’ in our land-based accommodation sector. The tourism industry, private and public sector tourism partners, hotel owners and operators, employees, business owners and entrepreneurs, would reap the greatest reward if we had a tourism product which could boast ‘a head in every bed’ in The Bahamas.
“There are opportunities to enhance occupancies throughout the archipelago, during a slow or shoulder season… in addition to the traditional peak travel dates and days. We should continue to work to entice land visitors to extend the duration of their stay, and to return to The Bahamas to experience more of what our premier tourism destination has to offer, time and time again.
Weech also said: “It is important to note that the downturn in the air arrival figures may be influenced by a number of factors, including disruptions in key markets. Also, given the fact that the cruise industry has the ability to offer extremely attractive entry-level pricing, which is appealing to a wide demographic of travelers in key source markets, the cruise industry is better able to remain buoyant in the face of any potential prevailing headwinds.
“Considering the cost of airfare, particularly for travel to the Family Islands; the price of accommodations in the destination, which is reflective of the cost of doing business as a land-based lodging; and the contributing factors mentioned, the diminishing air arrival figures do not come as a surprise.
“Finally, if we hope to counter any continued decline in our stopover market, it is imperative that we ensure that the experiences we provide each and every guest are exceptional, we must provide the highest level of service, a wondrous sense of place, and we must exceed expectations at every juncture and interaction between our people and those we entice to visit us.”
Source: Youri Kemp, The Nassau Guardian
