The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

FAMILY Island resorts experienced a mixed 2022 in terms of hitting their collective targets as they closed in on a return to pre-COVID business volumes, a top tourism official has confirmed.

Kerry Fountain, the Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board’s (BOIPB) executive director, told Tribune Business that while member properties did not quite reach their room nights sold goal they did manage to exceed room revenue ambitions.

“Last year, our goal was to realise 95 percent of room nights sold compared to the benchmark year of 2019, and the goal was to realise 86 percent of the room revenue compared to 2019,” he explained. “We did not make the room nights sold. The goal was 95 percent and we ended up at 84 percent.”

“In terms of room revenue, our goal was 86 percent but we ended up at 97 percent. So we’re almost on par in terms of room revenue compared to 2019.” The latter year, besides being the last full year free of COVID-19, was also a record for Bahamian tourism in terms of tourist arrivals with 7.249m foreign air and sea visitors.

While Grand Bahama, Abaco and Andros were the top three islands for visitor arrivals in 2019, outside of New Providence, in 2022 these places were taken by Abaco, Harbour Island and Andros. “Those islands performed surprisingly well and are on par, not only in terms of room revenue but room nights sold, compared to 2019,” Mr Fountain said.

“Islands like Abaco, islands like Harbour Island, even Andros and Exuma, that have direct lift from either the US and or Canada and ideal, same day to and from connections from Nassau, those islands are faring better than the islands like San Salvador, Acklins and Long Island, where we need better connectivity.

“So if we don’t have the service at this time from South Florida, then what we would we need to do is ensure that if tourists are flying into Nassau on any given day, and they want to go to Acklins or Long Island, or Cat Island or wherever it is, they can get there without overnighting in Nassau. And if I’m flying back home, I can get back home on a 6pm flight from Nassau as opposed to overnight in Nassau and wait to fly on the day after. This means sitting down with Bahamasair, in particular, and making these things happen.”