The Tribune

By Neil Hartnell

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bimini and Abaco marinas are warning that new and increased boating fees and regulations “are absolutely strangling” winter season business, with one operator revealing they will be satisfied “if we could settle in at 50 percent of what we did last year”.

Multiple northern Bahamas marinas told Tribune Business that the full impact of reforms that accompanied the 2025-2026 Budget is now “starting to bite” with what is normally a peak period for the industry being marred by “widespread cancellations from long-time repeat visitors”, “minimal reservations” and “a sharp drop in forward bookings”.

Emanuel Alexiou, the Bahama Out Island Promotion Board's president and proprietor of the Abaco Beach Resort, said an industry survey had revealed “everyone’s down” for the winter season with the greatest declines suffered by those marinas and islands that are closest to the US.

Volumes for Bimini marinas were found to be off by 45 percent, and Mr Alexiou revealed that his own Abaco Beach Resort suffered a 28 percent year-over-year decline in “transient” boating visitors for November. He added that December will be down, with the only question being “by how much”.

Other marinas gave similar dismal outlooks and forecasts. Christian Johnson, dock master and owner’s representative at Brown’s Marina in Bimini, told this newspaper that - while the 18-slip facility is typically “almost fall” at Christmas and the run-up to the holiday season - it presently only has three boats that are docked.

Affirming that the business has “taken a hit” over the past two years, he revealed that Brown’s is “off almost 50 percent” compared to 2024 numbers which were themselves down “a good 30-40 percent” from the previous year. And, emphasising that the pain is being felt island-wide, Mr Johnson said that when he drives through the island and “looks at other marinas… all are empty.”

Robbie Smith, Bimini Big Game Club’s veteran dock master of 36 years, said the resort’s marina is “down to like 40 percent” occupancy “instead of running at 80-90 percent” with business presently being sustained by visiting dive groups.

And Mike Albury, of Abaco’s Conch Inn and Marina, said it was now obvious that the new and increased boating fees - and the manner in which they were implemented - have “really been taken to heart” by the international boating community including regular visitors to The Bahamas.

He disclosed the property will be satisfied “if we could settle in at 50 percent of what we did last year” for the December and 2026 first quarter for he peak winter boating season, but warned: “We’re thinking it might be worse than that.” All marina operators agreed that the new and increased fees are a big factor in the sharp, sudden fall in commerce.

The marina industry’s plight prompted the Abaco Chamber of Commerce to this weekend warn that the fall-out from the Government’s reforms, especially the new fishing permit and anchorage fees, as well as the impact on smaller vessels and less frequent boating visitors, is “proving deeply harmful” to the island’s economy.

Describing this as a “pressing economic threat”, the Abaco Chamber said that while it respects the Government’s mandate to generate the necessary revenues to fund public services and enforce environmental protection, the assumptions underpinning the new and increased fees “do not match Abaco’s market reality” and that of many other northern Bahamian islands.

While government policy appears to view all visiting boats as multi-million dollar “mega yachts”, whose owners and operators have the deep pockets to absorb the increases, the Chamber warned that the “backbone” of Abaco’s boating community is, in reality, 35-70 foot recreational vessels for whom the hikes have made The Bahamas too expensive and uncompetitive.

The Chamber warned that the impact from the “sudden” reduction in boating visitor numbers and spending is causing “significant repercussions” for Abaco’s economy and businesses outside the immediate marina sector, with Bahamian workers being placed on “reduced hours and shifts” as the likes of restaurants, grocery stores, bars, marine suppliers and other retailers feel the resulting pinch.

As Tribune Business previously reported, none of those voicing concern about the revised boating fees and their impact are disputing that The Bahamas has a sovereign right to determine and set these levies at the level it deems appropriate, or that visiting boaters should pay their fair share in taxes and fees in return for commercial exploitation of this nation’s waters and environment. They have even acknowledged that smaller, properly communicated rises may have been justified.

Instead, the main issue has been the zero consultation with boaters and industry, coupled with the lack of notice and time to adjust, as well as the scale and breadth of the changes and how they have been implemented in practice. This has led to significant uncertainty and confusion, with The Bahamas not providing a timely or coherent message to its visitors.

Mr Alexiou, the Out Island Promotion Board president, when asked about the sharp drop-off in marina business, told this newspaper: “That is true. Some more than others, but that’s true. We had expected that. We did a survey; the Bahama Out Island Promotion Board did a survey, and everyone’s down. The closer you are to the US, the worse it is. Bimini has a 45 percent decrease.”

Speaking to his own Abaco Beach Resort property, Mr Alexiou said boating business was off by 10 percent for September and October. He added that Elbow Cay marinas had been described as “kind of empty”, with some only having between two to five boats docked. And, subtracting the 45 contracted charters that keep their boats in his marina year-round, Mr Alexiou said: “If you look at transients, regular guests that come and go, we were about 28 percent down for November.

“We’ve seen some of them come for December, we have more coming in. It will be interesting to see how December goes. It will be down, but by how much? We are not the worst. Some are feeling it more than others. We employ people. The real loser is tourism. Everybody is affected. I’m hoping someone’s eyes get woken enough to actually do something.

“People have a misconception of what boating is. I don’t think they’ve done any boating themselves. Not everyone has a $20m mega yacht. Most boats are not even near that, and many boats are second or third-hand bought for $250,000 to $1.5m. In the fishing period, April and May, we have a totally different element who go around the world fishing and do have expensive boats and are out fishing every day. They don’t mind paying those fees. But that’s not the majority,” Mr Alexiou added.

“As a country, we cannot afford to lose even the smallest guy. It’s hard, with a family, not to spend $10,000 on rooms and restaurants etc - $10,000-$20,000 for a week or two. If they stay longer they won’t buy quite as much, but are still going to spend.” Mr Alexiou said that, while there is still time to rescue The Bahamas’ winter boating season, that will require adjustments to the recently-implemented fee increases and other reforms - something the Government has shown no sign of doing.

“We probably could still save it if we could get the word out,” Mr Alexiou said, “but they’ve been so stubborn and do not want to make a move. We have got to be careful. The world is a little bit in turmoil, our next door neighbour, our biggest client, a lot of things are changing there. People are nervous, and we need to make them less nervous, make it as easy and less expensive to get here as possible and bring their money and spend it.”

Mr Johnson, at Brown’s Marina in Bimini, told Tribune Business that as soon as the new and increased boating fees were unveiled in June and July he started receiving calls from long-standing clients “asking if it’s true; if it’s real”. He added that Brown’s had also suffered a second blow from a reduction in its “bread and butter” Canadian vessels visiting from the north-east due to economic uncertainty and the Trump administration’s hardline approach to immigration enforcement.

“Typically around Christmas time, we’re almost fall,” he said. “We’re off about 50 percent from last year, and last year was off a good 30-40 percent from the before. In the last two years we’ve really taken a hit. I only have three boats in my marina right now. Right around Christmas we usually have a full house. From other boaters I have talked to it’s pretty much the same way across the country. Marinas are empty.”

With just one-sixth of the 18 slips at his marina presently occupied, Mr Johnson added: “When I got here just three years ago it was full for Christmas. At the end of May last year and this year, we were really, really down. It’s not just boaters and marinas. I have a restaurant right next to the marina and we’re down 30-40 percent.

“It’s not just us. All the other businesses on the island are slow. All the other marinas are empty. The resort on the north island [Resorts World Bimini], occupancies are way down. It’s kind of across the board…. I make a point every time I drive through the island to look at the other marinas and they are all empty.

“Other businesses I know, grocery stores, bars, restaurants, all are feeling the pinch with boating now. At the restaurant, if we do 8-10 percent margins and your business gets cut in half, that’s a problem. There’s only so much you can cut. I have the same amount of restaurant employees but their shifts are being reduces significantly. That’s the state of affairs.”

While mega yachts and other vessels more than 100 feet in length are unlikely to be impacted so much, particularly those that charge between $10,000 to $20,000 per day to charter, that is not the market that the islands closer to Florida - Bimini, West End, Abaco and the Berry Islands - serve.

The core clientele for Bimini are the smaller centre consoles, sports fishing vessels and Boston Whalers that like to make frequent - and often spontaneous - trips to The Bahamas. They are now faced with having to pay higher fees, with the former three-month cruising permit having been ended, and restricted to entering only twice within 30 days on the same permit.

“I call them the weekend warriors,” Mr Johnson said of these boaters. “They may come over once or twice a year. It’s an adventure for them. It’s only 50 miles for an inexperienced boater, and they bring their family and friends over. It’s an adventure. But now it doesn’t make financial sense. It’s too expensive.”

He cited the example of a regular boater who frequently visits Brown’s from Miami on his 36-foot centre console. With the $150, 90-day cruising permit now ended, the same client has to pay for a ‘temporary’ 12-month cruising permit for a vessel below 50 feet in length, which itself has risen from $300 to $500 - a two-thirds or 66.67 percent rise. And, with the new $300 fishing permit and anchorage fees, Mr Johnson said that client’s costs have jumped to around $1,600.

“For someone who normally likes to bring their family and friends over for the weekend to hang out and go fishing, it doesn’t make any sense,” he argued. “Now, with $1,600 on your travel bill why would anyone do that?”

Mr Albury, at Abaco’s Conch Inn and Marina, argued that the “big problem” with the fee increases is that they did not fit the Family Island business model and seemed to assume that the majority of visiting vessels are 150-300 feet mega yachts and 150 foot tenders as opposed to his island’s core 35-70 foot recreational vessels.

“I have my own projections,” he said, “and speaking to other marinas, in one case they did not have anything on the books. If we could settle in at 50 percent of what we did last year [we’d be satisfied]. We’re thinking it might be worse than that. The problem is your bills stay the same. Your dock licence and all your fees, your salaries, your hurricane insurance, our fees stay the same. They are fixed. Salaries, payroll, all of that stuff.

“All of our money is gone before you service your debt. It’s not like you put 50 percent less in your pocket. There is nothing to put in your pocket. We feel it’s a bad approach. No matter where you tax the public, no matter where you squeeze people, they are going to feel it and complain.”

Mr Albury argued that those behind the fee increases are living “in a bubble” and seem to believe that the boating industry has unlimited money to spend, can easily absorb the hikes and will continue to come to The Bahamas regardless. “Who of us wants to go to a business where we do not feel appreciated or wanted?” he asked.

“It boils down to our guests. Yes, some have the money, but they want to feel appreciated and are getting value for money.” Mr Albury said a smaller, better communicated increase in fees, while also making it “more convenient to pay”, would have been a better approach.

“People are making decisions in a bubble,” he argued. “As a 100 percent owned Bahamian business it makes you leery that you borrow money and put your financial future on the line and, no matter how hard you work and blessed you are, you get someone who is not involved with your business making decisions that could put you put out of business. That’s the scary part.”

Mr Smith, Bimini Big Game’s dockmaster, told Tribune Business it had taken the boating community time to adjust to the fee changes and the way in which they were implemented “scared a lot of people”. He added: “Visiting boats coming in are not as strong as they used to be,” he explained. “Instead of us running at 80-90 percent, we’re down to like 40 percent.

“When it comes to transient guests bringing their boats over, it’s down. Bimini is right there next to Florida. For things like centre consoles, it’s a hop, skip and a jump for them… When that [the fees] were dropped on, it didn’t give them six months to prepare but put it in their face and it did not sit well with guests who come here every two to three weeks. It didn’t sit well. It was like a slap in the face, and they’ve gone to the [Florida] Keys instead.”

While The Bahamas’ new two-year frequent digital cruising card (FDCC) has gained traction with boaters, others have pointed out that The Bahamas has gone from charging $600 for a cruising permit, which included a fishing permit and no anchorage fee, to a $1,000 cruising permit fee, $350 anchorage fee and $300 per month fishing permit fee.

The ‘temporary’ 12-month cruising permit fee for a vessel below 50 feet in length has risen from $300 to $500, a two-thirds or 66.67 percent rise, with those between 50 feet and 100 feet seeing an increase of similar magnitude from $600 to $1,000. And the new anchorage fees range from $200 to $1,500 “for foreign pleasure vessels not mooring at a marina”, and are again linked to vessel size.