By YOURI KEMP
Tribune Business Reporter
ykemp@tribunemedia.net
The Deputy Prime Minister yesterday said downtown Nassau's British Colonial hotel will partially re-open this summer ahead of a full return in November 2023.
Chester Cooper, also minister for tourism, aviation and investments, speaking ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting said he had been advised that the developer, China Construction America (CCA), is making “steady progress" in renovating and refitting the property. It will also likely have to seek out a new brand and operating partner to replace the Hilton.
The British Colonial has been a landmark Nassau resort since the original version first opened in 1923, and progress on its re-opening comes as the Government pushes to have all closed resorts re-opened so that there is sufficient room inventory to accommodate still surging visitor demand.
"It's important to get all of the inventory we have back into circulation," Mr Cooper said. "We have a room shortage, and therefore every room that we can provide for tourists to rent is a positive for tourism and continuing to grow our stopover visitors. We look forward to this coming on stream. This will be a short-term boost and we are having significant interest in terms of medium to long-term additions to the room inventory. So I'm looking forward to it.”
Mr Cooper added that the Government is working "very closely" with Nassau Cruise Port (NCP) ahead of its full opening on May 25-26, with the transformed facility set to attract “significant visitors”. He said: "This is going to cause an increase in the numbers of visitors per day that we are able to accommodate. It's going to work wonders for the downtown area. There will be authentically Bahamian products, additional restaurants.
"All of these will be accessible also by Bahamians. So this is going to be good for tourists but also good for locals as well. So I think whilst this celebration marks the opening of a $300m investment in the tourism infrastructure, it's also good for the spirit and vibrancy of the downtown area.”
Vendors have already been given keys to retail and restaurant spaces at the Nassau Cruise Port, which has been 100 percent leased already. Meanwhile, the US is set to drop its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all travellers entering that country on May 11, which Mr Cooper described as “positive” for tourism in The Bahamas.
He said: “Americans can come to our country, The Bahamas, and go back without having to be vaccinated and without any restrictions in terms of COVID protocols and requirements.
“The freedom and ease of travel for people everywhere is going to be extremely positive for The Bahamas. Persons coming from Europe who might wish to travel to the US and onward to The Bahamas, for example, or the other way around, no longer need to be concerned about this. This will cause significant seamlessness in terms of travel to the US, and I think this will be overall proof positive for The Bahamas. We're looking forward to the amendment.”
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