The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Abaco’s 87,000 stopover visitors in 2012 were down 22 per cent from their pre-recession high, a senior tourism official yesterday revealing that negotiations were being held with a major US carrier to provide jet service beyond Miami and help fuel a turnaround.

David Johnson, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-generalm, told the Abaco Business Outlook conference that a new jet service between the Abacos and the US was no more than a season away.

“We have been working with Abaco stakeholders on new jet service that we are confident is no more than a season away,” he said. “ We are in the process of concluding negotiations with a major US carrier to provide such a service; jet service beyond Miami to fuel stopover visitor performance.”

He described Abaco as having the most diversified tourism offering and greatest potential for further economic growth in the Bahamas.

“The Abacos attracted some 95,000 stopover visitors in 2003, and by 2012 it had slipped to some 87,000 stopover visitors,” Mr Johnson said.

“This island peaked in 2007 when it attracted some 111,000 stopover visitors. Some 34 per cent of our stopovers choose hotel accommodations whereas some 55 per cent used apartments or villas, stayed with friends or relatives or simply stayed at their own properties.

”Private boaters who stayed on their boat represented some 19 per cent of all stopovers to the Abacos. In the cruise tourism sector, Abaco is third in the nation behind Nassau and Grand Bahama with almost 500,000 cruise passengers annually.”

Mr Johnson added: “We have seen Abaco attain these kinds of numbers in the absence of any growth strategy, and with limited infrastructure with which it could compete effectively for the most valued component of air stopover visitors at this point in time.”

He said the Ministry of Tourism was preparing to launch a proactive campaign targeted at pleasure boaters. “We are committed to launching a much stronger and proactive campaign targeted at pleasure boaters to the Abacos, which will also feature the introduction of a process that will enable boaters to prepay fees on-line similar to the way hotel visitors do, which will minimise the wait-up entry into the Bahamas. We have reached an agreement with the Ministry of Finance and will execute it in short order,” said Mr Johnson.