The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

HARBOUR Island’s tourism sector has been holding its own despite a slow economy according to Betty Bethel, tourism general manager of North Eleuthera and Harbour Island who said that some operators had reported numbers exceeding last year’s performance.

“Harbour Island does a very good job of marketing itself. It’s established itself as a high end destination. I won’t say it is recession proof but certainly while the rest of the Bahamas suffered from the slow economy Harbour Island has continued to hold its own,” said Bethel.

“Many of the operators expected not to have as good a season as they did coming off the slow economy but they have reported to me that their numbers have been very good and in some instances exceed last year. It’s a resilient area of our tourism product in the Bahamas and it’s an area that we always have to pay a lot of attention to because it’s where the revenue that’s generated from tourism is highest, in that part of the tourism product,” said Bethel.

Bethel added: “It’s certainly right up there with the revenue that’s generated across the board in the Bahamas. While we have small boutique properties you are looking at average room rates of a minimum of $250 a night and that’s kind of your high end budget properties so the resorts use the slow season when they close around late August and September to refurbish their properties, give vacations and do training so they could maintain their standards, maintain their rates and service delivery.”

Bethel said that ensuring that visitor experience matched the destination was important.

“My initiatives are really to make sure that the experience that the visitors have match the destination and Harbour Island is a really high end product. Right now we are engaged in Bahamas ‘host training’ to elevate the service levels again to complement the hotel product that’s on the island. I am spending time looking for activities that really meet the needs of the customers. One of them I have identified is an art and wine festival and I will be partnering with Bahamas National Trust so it will take place on the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The response from artists throughout Eleuthera and around the Bahamas has been overwhelming.”