The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE average expenditure by cruise passengers in the Bahamas has increased by roughly 42 per cent according to the Minister of Tourism, Obie Wilchcombe, who said yesterday that the country is also on pace for a record number of air arrivals this year.

Mr Wilchcombe told Tribune Business that while cruise arrivals in 2015 is expected to be high, the cruise passenger spend is critical. “The spend is up and that’s important,” he said. “The cruise lines informed us that the spend is up now, that the average cruise passenger spend is around $85 as opposed to $60. The work continues and there is much more to be done. We are going to get the numbers we want but the spend has to be up and we have to have consistency.”

Mr Wilchcombe noted that there has been some concern regarding the Prince George Wharf attraction, Festival Place, with repairs now nearing completion. “In New Providence we have had some concern because of Festival Place and I’m working on that trying to get it ready. It should have been completed several months ago but we had delays because of many circumstances, in fact determining how severely damaged the roof was at the Festival Place. We are finally completing it, in another week or so we will be finished. We are trying to get it up and looking good and get it read for the new cruise season beginning in November,” Mr Wilchcombe said.

Commenting on air arrivals Mr Wilchcombe said: “We’re going to see a record number of air arrivals this year. The numbers are looking very good and I think we are going to hold on and do very well. My concern is year round business. Our Family Islands are doing every well and we are seeing new airlift come here to those islands, especially Abaco and Eleuthera.”

Total stopover visitors to the Bahamas grew by 4.9 per cent year-over-year in 2014. Air (stopover) arrivals to the Bahamas were up by almost 43,000 last year, growing from 1.281 million in 2013 to 1.343 million. Growth elsewhere, though, was more subdued, with New Providence’s stopover arrivals essentially flat year-over-year - up 1.8 per cent from 987,584 to 1.005 million.

As for the Family Islands, stopover visitors increased by three per cent to 209,764, up from 203,677 in 2013.