The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY 1,300 international participants have registered to-date for Marathon Bahamas, its organisers now projecting that the 2014 event will generate just under $2 million in visitor spend.

Recent runner figures, which “continue to increase”, show 1,443 persons have registered for the marathon and 2,100 for the Susan G Komen 5 kilometre ‘Race For the Cure’. Organisers say 1,291 arrivals are expected, generating 1,780 room nights and some $1.937 million in visitor expenditure.

Shelly Wilson, a race weekend director, recently told Tribune Business that organisers were hoping to exceed last year’s numbers in terms of registered participants.

She added that overseas runners, in particular, have a significant impact on tourism through added room nights and spend during the relatively quiet mid-January period for the tourism industry.

Ms Wilson said that since 2010, more than $200,000 has been donated to beneficiaries including the Cancer Association; the Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative Foundation; and the Cancer Association of Grand Bahama.

The Sunshine Bahamas Race Weekend, scheduled for January 18 and 19, is in its fifth annual running of the marathon, half-marathon and relay, and its third partnership with the Susan G. Komen Bahamas Race for the Cure.