The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Out Island Promotion Board yesterday said it was "playing the cards we have been dealt" in trying to boost tourism prior to fixing airlift connectivity.

Kerry Fountain, its executive director, said "the biggest impediment to growth" in the southern Bahamas was the lack of airlift and convenient access through the Nassau "hub".

He described the southern Bahamas' performance as "the tale of two cities", with the "negative trend" seen from 2015 onwards continuing into 2017.

"We feel the biggest impediment for growth, hurricane or no hurricane, as far as the southern islands are concerned is the lack of more connecting flights via the Nassau hub," Mr Fountain said.

Taking Acklins as an example, he said the island was connected to the Bahamas' main gateway by just two Bahamasair flights per week, which arrived on Wednesday and Saturday.

With most incoming flights to Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) arriving late morning or early afternoon, Mr Fountain said that allowing for a 90-minute turnaround the ideal departure time for connecting Family Island flights was in the early to mid-afternoon around 1.30-2pm.

However, flights to Acklins departed Nassau at 10am on Wednesday and Saturday, meaning that tourists seeking connection through Nassau would have to wait three-four days for the next flight if they missed that time.

"If you know anything about Family Island travellers, you know they want to spend as least time as possible in Nassau," Mr Fountain said. "There's a huge opportunity for us to fix that and provide one-stop service via the LPIA hub.

"We have a plan in place, but these are the cards we have been dealt. Until we get the issues fixed, we have to get people to Acklins, Long Island and San Salvador......"

Mr Fountain said the Promotion Board had implemented a domestic tourism programme in the hope that Bahamians, via posting of their experiences and Family Island attractions on social media, would act as "ambassadors" for the country.

A 'fly free' programme has been implemented to encourage this, with redemptions increasing from $7,000 in 2014-2015 to $60,000 in 2015-2016.

A similar offering for European visitors had also produced growth, with redemptions rising from $17,000 in 2014-2015 to $120,000 in 2015-2016.

Breaking down the performance of the Promotion Board's 42 member properties, Mr Fountain said 50 room-plus resorts on Abaco, Exuma and Bimini were down collectively 13.7 per cent for September.

However, they were projected to be up a "mind blowing" 237 per cent for October, due to the absence of Hurricane Matthew, which last year forced Sandals Emerald Bay to close in the early part of the month.

Small resorts in the northern Bahamas under 50 rooms were largely closed during the slowest period of the tourism season, both to give themselves a breather and conduct renovations.

In the central Bahamas, Promotion Board members under 50 rooms were up 42 per cent collectively in August. That performance continued into September with a 17 per cent upswing year-over-year, and October is projected to be ahead 78 per cent.

In the southern Bahamas, hit hardest by Hurricane Irma, member properties there suffered a 10 per cent decline in August and 35 per cent drop-off in September, followed by projections of a 40 per cent decline in October 2017.