The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Marathon Bahamas organisers are projecting the 2014 event will again generate close to 2,000 hotel room nights, providing a much needed boost for the resort industry.

“The projected room nights for Race Weekend will continue to be close to 2,000 for 2014,” said Pamela Richardson, race director for the event. The 2014 race weekend, inclusive of Marathon Bahamas, a Boston marathon qualifier, and the 5 kilometre Susan G Komen Bahamas Race for the Cure, is scheduled for January 18 and 19.

Shelly Wilson, a race weekend director, told Tribune Business: “For the marathon we’re at a registration of 432 registered participants. That includes the marathon, the half-marathon and the relay marathon.

Last year we had over 1,100 marathon participants. We’re hoping to exceed that, which is probably going to happen.”

She added: “On the Race for the Cure or the 5k side, we have so far 87 registered participants. The registrants for the Race for the Cure, because it’s a short race, don’t really tend to kick up until about the second week in January, the week preceding the race.

“Last year we had in excess of 2,000 registrants for that, and we’re pretty confident that we will again meet that target.On the 5k side most of that is local registrants.”

Ms Wilson added that the marathon, now into its fifth year, has attracted a considerable number of international participants. “That impacts the tourism dollar in terms of room nights. Last year we had over 497 international registrants,” she said.

“That was on race day. To-date we have 288 international registrants. Again we anticipate exceeding the number of international registrants in 2014.”

She said further: “Those international registrants come in a month that is historically slow for the hotel sector. A lot of them tend to bring family with them and they stay at a minimum of two nights if they’re coming from South Florida.

“This year we have persons coming from as far away as the Netherlands as well as Germany, and they’re obviously staying for more than two nights.”

Proceeds from the race event benefit the cancer charities in the Bahamas – the Cancer Association of Grand Bahama, The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, The Sister Sister Breast Cancer Support Group, The Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative Foundation and the Cancer Association of Grand Bahama. Ms Wilson noted that since 2010, in excess of $200,000 has been donated to those beneficiaries.