The Tribune

• Destination branded ‘insanely busy’ for Easter

• Business exceeds resort forecast by 20% pts

• Operators eye rebound going into summer

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Harbour Island resort operators yesterday revealed business activity is at 90 percent of pre-COVID levels for Easter and beyond as they hailed a “phenomenal” rebound from the pandemic.

Joseph Dargavage, partner at Romora Bay Resort & Marina, told Tribune Business that business levels for the next six to seven months were some 20 percentage points higher than he had anticipated in his original forecast.

“Harbour Island is really looking great for Easter. We are not only looking forward to Easter being great but all the way through to July,” he disclosed. “It’s better than expected. At Romora Bay, I was budgeting over the next six to seven months to do about 70 percent of 2019 numbers, but the way it’s looking now we’re going to be in the order of 90 percent of 2019.

“We’re almost getting back. My guess is that the boating and yachting sector will be getting close to pre-COVID-19 numbers by the end of the summer.... Over the last three weeks, and now through Easter, Harbour Island is actually at 100 percent occupancy on the hotel side and 80 percent occupancy on the marina side. It’s very strong for Harbour Island and the Out Islands.”

Benjamin Simmons, proprietor of The Other Side and Ocean View properties, echoed Mr Dargavage in telling this newspaper: “We’ve had a phenomenal month. It’s right up there to 2019 levels. We’ve probably, between Christmas and Easter, ten percent off what we did in 2018 and 2019, and leading up in 2020 when all hell broke loose. Easter is looking great.”

He added that his resorts are also set to benefit from the “huge backlog” of destination weddings that have built up after COVID-19 lockdowns and other restrictions meant 25 such occasions that were on their books for 2020 had to be postponed.

“A handful cancelled but most stuck in there,” Mr Simmons said. “It’s happened all around the world. People couldn’t tie the knot. Now there’s a shortfall in capacity because all these other people were booked in for 2021. We’re trying to schedule people [from 2020] back in, but there are also people booked for 2022 who want to move up to 2021.

“It’s created demand for the off-season. We’re doing four weddings in July and normally we wouldn’t do any in July. May, June, July and August, it’s booked out for a wedding every weekend at either property. And the same again from November when the winter season starts. The wedding market is really expanding.”

Mr Simmons said the need for visitors to obtain a negative COVID-19 PCR test result within five days of travelling to The Bahamas has drastically shortened the booking window, making it impossible for resorts to predict business volumes.

“People are wanting last minute to get out of their situation,” he added. “We were empty at the beginning of April one to two months ago, but people are booking five to six nights out and just saying: ‘Do you have space?’ People want to make sure they are clear on the test before they pull the trigger and get out the credit card to book the airline.”

Revealing that his properties’ occupancy levels are in the “high 90 percent” range through to April’s end, Mr Simmons said the hotel booking window had previously used to extend out some three to four months.

Describing present visitor activity on Harbour Island, Mr Simmons said: “It is insane. It is very busy, inseparable from previous years in terms of volume of people on the beach, golf cart use and restaurants. It is insanely busy. It has to be as busy as 2018 and 2019. It’s very hard to get a golf cart.

“But there’s an element of relationship, tradition and trust. As busy as the island is, in comparison to Baha Mar with 3,000 guests checking in on a normal Spring Break, it’s not of that scale. We’re spread out over the island, there’s less density, more people are getting the vaccine and they’re not worried that they’re risking their lives to come to Harbour Island.”

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, recently admitted that Harbour Island’s tourism industry “has made a compelling case” for why it should not become a cruise destination.

He told Tribune Business he will now “convey that message” to Crystal Cruises and “explore the possibilities” of it switching to an alternative destination on its weekly seven-night Bahamas cruises that are scheduled to begin on July 3.

The minister acknowledged that Harbour Island has established a destination brand that is the “antithesis” of mass market cruise tourism, focusing on high-end visitors seeking a quiet getaway in boutique resorts and vacation rentals, and conceded there were valid concerns this could be “significantly negatively impacted” by Crystal Cruises plans.

Pledging to “engineer a good outcome for all sides”, Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper: “The hotel owners and operators have expressed their view that Harbour Island really is not a preferred destination for cruise ship passengers, and they have made a very strong and compelling case as to why.

“In many respects it relates to branding. They have branded their destination as the antithesis for cruising, and instead as a destination that caters to high-end, low density travellers looking for that unique and boutique experience. They feel that by introducing a cruise component on to the island that will significantly negatively impact their branding.

“They make a compelling case. We’re obviously going to go back to the cruise company to at least convey that message and explore the possibilities of using another destination. No decision has been made yet. The Ministry of Tourism will convey that messaging on to Crystal Cruises. They are the ones intending to stop there.”