The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

MARINA boating visitors to the Bahamas grew by 35 per cent in January 2012, the Ministry of Tourism revealed yesterday, with the industry estimated to generate $46 million in annual boater revenues compared to $820 million in hotel stopover tourist spending.

The Ministry's data also revealed that for the first three months of the year there was an increase in boater visitors from Europe, although those originating out of Miami/Fort Lauderdale declined during that same period.

Speaking at a Marina Operators of the Bahamas (MOB) workshop at the British Colonial Hilton yesterday, Gary Young, senior director of research at the Ministry of Tourism, said: "The numbers for the marina industry this year actually look quite encouraging.

"When you look at the marina boaters from January to March 2012, January was a good month, showing a 35 per cent growth, while February and March showed declines. This could change, however, as we get more cards in from the Family Islands for March."

The main boost the Bahamas receives from boating visitors is their loyalty, with 74 per cent becoming repeat visitors as opposed to just 39 per cent of hotel guests. Other tourists show just a 33 per cent repeat rate.

When it comes to per capita nightly spend, boating visitors spend on average $153, below the $225 spent by hotel-based tourists, but ahead of the average $120 produced by 'others', such as cruise ship passengers.

According to Mr Young, only Bimini showed boater visitor growth - of 10 per cent - in the 2012 first quarter, and accounted for 50 per cent of all marina boaters. Boaters not staying in marinas followed a similar trend, but with Nassau/Paradise Island and Bimini showing increases.

Mr Young said Nassau/Paradise Island showed an inordinate number of boaters who did not stay in marinas, adding that Nassau/Paradise Island was frequently a layover for those going to Exuma, with 35 per cent of Nassau/Paradise Island first port yacht/boat stopovers going on to Exuma and 18 per cent to other islands

Mr Young said a review of the origin markets showed Europe grew by 103 marina boaters, while the US fell by some 400 marina boaters.

Miami-Fort Lauderdale was the biggest reason for the decrease in US business (273 fewer stopovers) according to Mr Young, who pointed out that the bulk of decreases in marina boaters came from stopovers that stayed three to four nights (33 per cent). Those staying two or fewer nights, or staying over a month, accounted for the growth (18 per cent).

Mr Young said that at this point, Bimini drives marina boater numbers, looking at the first quarter performance and 2008 levels. He also noted that there was a sharp decline in Grand Bahama numbers, which in 2005 represented 26 per cent of marina boaters, although in 2011 it stood at 16 per cent.

Joseph Dargavage, incoming president of the Marina Operators of the Bahamas (MOB), said one of his goals was to ensure that more accurate data on the yachting community was collected.

He told Tribune Business: "Probably the number one thing I'm going to focus on is capturing the data of the yachting community, to find out how long they are staying, what they are doing and finding out what we can do to provide a better boating experience.

"That's something we never did in the boating community; pooling that data. We are going to work on collecting that data."