The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE tourism sector continued its “robust” growth in November, according to the Central Bank of The Bahamas’ monthly economic and financial developments report - with arrivals up by an astonishing 341.5 percent from 2021. 

The report said: “Monthly data suggested that the tourism sector continued to record robust growth during the review period, amid relaxed pandemic restrictions and heightened demand for travel in the key source market.

“Official data provided by the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) indicated that total passenger arrivals by first port of entry grew to 570,154 in October, from 260,942 visitors in the same month of 2021. Specifically, the dominant sea segment rose to 484,480, vis-á-vis 204,067 visitors in the prior year. Further, air traffic expanded to 85,674 from 56,875 a year earlier — surpassing pre-pandemic levels; representing 114.1 percent of air arrivals registered in 2019.

“A breakdown by major ports of entry revealed that total arrivals to New Providence increased to 235,282 in October, from 140,581 in the comparative period of 2021. Leading this outcome, the air and sea segments both advanced to 69,408 and 165,875 visitors, respectively. Likewise, traffic to the Family Islands amounted to 308,209 visitors, compared to 106,365 a year earlier, as air and sea visitors measured 13,717 and 294,492, respectively. Further, Grand Bahama attracted 26,663 visitors, exceeding the 13,996 recorded in the previous year, attributed to gains in the air and sea components, of 2,549 and 24,114, respectively.”

The report added: “On an annual basis, total arrivals rebounded to 5.3m from 1.2m in the corresponding 2021 period, when a 30.9 percent contraction was registered. Supporting this outturn, air arrivals accelerated to 1.2m passengers, exceeding the 79.8 percent growth a year earlier, reflecting gains in all major source markets. Similarly, sea arrivals rose to 4.2m visitors, a turnaround from a 61.4 percent reduction in 2021

“The most recent data provided by the Nassau Airport Development Company Limited (NAD) showed that for the month of November, total departures—net of domestic passengers—moved higher to 106,462 from 79,055 in the comparative period of 2021. Specifically, US departures expanded to 90,023 from 68,425 in the previous year. Further, non-US departures rose to 16,439 from 10,630 in the same month of 2021. On a year- to-date basis, total outbound traffic increased to 1.2m from 0.7m passengers in the comparative period a year earlier, following a 64.9 percent expansion in the preceding year. In particular, U.S. departures rebounded to 1.0m visitors, extending the 83.8 percent growth in the prior year. Likewise, non-US departures grew to 0.1m, a reversal from the 30.0 percent decline in the corresponding period last year.

“As it relates to the short-term vacation rental market, data provided by AirDNA mirrored these positive trends. Specifically, during the month of November, total room nights sold rose to 119,105 from 95,440 in the comparative 2021 period. Contributing to this outcome, the occupancy rates for both entire place and hotel comparable listings increased to 50.3 percent and 48.3 percent, respectively, compared to 50.7 percent and 47.9 percent a year earlier. Further, as depicted in Graph 1, price indicators showed that year-over-year, the average daily room rate (ADR) for entire place grew by 12.4 percent to $551.72 and hotel comparable listings, by 5.0 percent to $190.92.”