The Tribune

Ministry of Tourism officials yesterday said there will be "minimal" hotel closures in Abaco this fall due to the increase in stopover visitors to The Bahamas.

Wynsome Ferguson, manager of the Abaco Tourist Office, said all hotels in Marsh Harbour and Hope Town will remain open during the August to November period, which is typically off-season on the island.

"Hotel closures for the fall in Abaco are at a minimal this year," she said. "The hotels in Hope Town and Marsh Harbour will remain open, and this is because Abaco has been fortunate enough to not have been impacted by any major hurricanes in the past four to five years.

"Also, over the past several years, we have seen a significant growth in our tourism arrival numbers, which has resulted in a continuous booming tourism season for hoteliers and industry partners on the island."

The length of time for which hotels, restaurants, marinas and other tourist-related facilities are closed also appears to have decreased, with some opening this month and others resuming service in October.

Silver Airways, though, has announced the suspension of flights into Treasure Cay International Airport from September 3 until mid-November.

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (BMOTA) recently reported that The Bahamas experienced significant increase in foreign air arrivals which is up 2.8 percent.

Dionisio D'Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, said The Bahamas was forecasting further improvements upon the 2.8 percent increase in foreign stopover visitors during 2018 to-date.

"We are pleased with the recent results, and we anticipate a continued upward trend that will positively reflect the tremendous effort we place into our marketing programme. The Bahamas is a magnificent place to visit, and we're happy to see that travellers are still choosing our home as their destination of choice," Mr D'Aguilar said.