The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Baha Mar’s opening will usher in a new era in Bahamian tourism, a Cabinet Minister has promised, as his Ministry seeks out additional airlift to support the $4.2 billion development.

Speaking with Tribune Business at Baha Mar’s recent ‘soft opening’, Obie Wilchcombe, minister of tourism, said his ministry was working to develop the 315,000 additional airline seats per annum that the property requires.

“We have the available number of airline seats for the rooms we have even with this open there,” he said. “What we need to do now is think about the future and we have to get more airlift, so we’re opening more markets.

“Flights will be coming in direct from Germany later this year. That is to be in time for the opening of the other two properties. We are going to intensify our reach in the United States of America. We also have to get Bahamasair to do more.”

Baha Mar was originally scheduled to open at the end of 2014. It was further delayed after the resort’s original developer, Sarkis Izmirilian, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States in June 2015.

He eventually lost control of the mega resort after legal wrangling in the US and the Bahamas. The new developer, Chow Tai Took Enterprises (CTFE), is now pushing for a full opening in March 2018.

Baha Mar includes a 300-room SLS resort, a 200-room Rosewood Baha Mar property, the 694-room all-inclusive Melia Nassau Beach Resort and the 1,800 room Grand Hyatt.

CTFE’s Bahamas president, Graeme Davis, believes the travel industry has a short term memory with regard to the resort’s past issues.

“I believe that in the travel industry, certainly the traveling public has a short-term memory,” he said. “It’s very unfortunate that, in the past, Baha Mar has certainly affected vacationers and spoiled people’s memories. We certainly look forward to returning the trust and the integrity of Baha Mar with our travelling partners, the travelling public and future guests.”