The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

THE 374-room Bimini Bay Resort is projecting 10 per cent year-over-year occupancy growth in 2012, a senior executive telling Tribune Business yesterday that its developers had invested around $290 million in its build out to-date.

Leslie Bethel, chief operating officer for RAV Bahamas, the wholly-owned Bahamian subsidiary of principal developer, the Miami-based Capo Group, said that since Bimini Bay opened its doors some two-and-a-half to three years ago, Bimini's visitor count had increased by more than 50 per cent.

Pointing out that Bimini Bay employed "upwards of 250 Bahamians" during its summer peak seasons, Mr Bethel told Tribune Business that the resort was currently performing as well as it had ever done since opening in 2008.

With immediate future prospects appearing "favourable", he added that the prospect of opening up fast ferry services between Bimini and south Florida gave Bimini Bay the opportunity to become a "year-round destination", rather than one which peaked in the summer during high boating season.

Emphasising that the Capo Group/RAV Bahamas wanted to balance Bimini's reputation for being "an undiscovered gem" with transforming it into a world-class destination, Mr Bethel acknowledged that the planned Bahamas Express ferry service, which would link the island with Port Everglades, had suffered several setbacks.

The Capo Group is a joint venture equity partner in Bahamas Express with Spanish shipping/ferry operator Balearia, and Mr Bethel confirmed: "We've had some delays and setbacks in terms of the dredging work that needed to be done in the harbour, and construction upgrades to the dock here.

"We're probably several weeks away from completing the infrastructure works and the dredging, and will probably try to start some time this summer, probably before the end of June."

The Bahamas Express ferry will have a 450-seat capacity, and Mr Bethel estimated that 40-55 per cent of those would be occupied by 'day trippers' from south Florida, coming to the Bahamas to experience its beaches and tourist attractions. They would also likely use Bimini Bay's restaurants and amenities, and other tourist-related facilities on the island.

"A lot of that will be made up of visitors that come out of south Florida, wanting to go over and experience the Bahamas for a day," Mr Bethel said of the Bahamas Express's likely passenger composition.

"We see somewhere between 40-55 per cent of the ferry's seats attracting a lot of day trippers to the Bahamas, wanting to experience Bimini, the beaches, local tourist attractions, and what Bimini and the Bahamas has to offer."

Above all, the Bahamas Express is set to considerably enhance visitor access to Bimini, a destination that has traditionally been heavily reliant on the boating market, and its proximity to Florida as that market's first stop, for the bulk of its tourists.

With just a small airstrip in south Bimini, most of Bimini Bay's homeowners and visitors travelled by boat, with the property's 240-slip marina also attracting business from visiting leisure boaters.

"Our marina is what the parking lot is to Disney," Mr Bethel acknowledged, adding that many Bimini Bay clients came in on private jets. United Express was now flying into Bimini twice daily, while IBC was also coming in daily from Fort Lauderdale.

"The resort has been performing as well as it has been since it opened two-and-a-half to three years ago," Mr Bethel told Tribune Business. "This year we're forecasting occupancy growth of 10 per cent above where we were last year. Prospects going forward are favourable."

The agreement that the Capo Group had signed with Rock Resorts in March 2011 for the latter to take over management of Bimini Bay, together with its Homeowners Association and rental programme, had also paid dividends. Mr Bethel said the developers were "seeing the benefits of a strategic relationship and having a large operator involved in this development".

The development of the Bahamas Express service, he added, would give Bimini Bay's developers "a tremendous opportunity" to make the property a "more year-round destination", especially in the winter months, decreasing its reliance on the peak boating season.

And Mr Bethel also disclosed that, with Bimini just a 25-minute flight and 48-mile, one-and-a-half-hour boat ride from Florida, Bimini Bay was positioning itself as "Miami offshore".

With events such as Art Basel and the Miami and Fort Lauderdale International Boat Shows attracting huge crowds annually, he added: "There's no reason why we can't feed off that convention business coming into south Florida."

"Bimini is still considered an unknown destination for many. It's still an undiscovered gem," Mr Bethel told Tribune Business. "We'd like to keep it that way, but at the same time we'd like to see more visitors and Bahamians coming to Bimini.

"It's not just the fishing capital and gateway to the Bahamas, it's a world class destination through development in Bimini. Since opening the first phase of Bimini Bay, we've seen the visitor count to the island increase by over 50 per cent."