The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Long Island has been hit by Hurricane Dorian fall-out, its Chamber of Commerce president revealed yesterday, with vacation rental bookings significantly down on prior years.

Cheryl de Goicoechea told Tribune Business that her own Airbnb properties “are nowhere near as booked as they have been” in the recent past - a trend that is currently being experienced by other vacation rental owners on the southern island.

She blamed the decline in business directly on the category five storm that devastated Abaco and Grand Bahama in early September, with many travellers still incorrectly believing that the entire Bahamas - rather than just a small portion - was impacted despite the Ministry of Tourism’s best efforts to tell the world otherwise.

“We have a lot of vacation homes on the island that are booked through Homeaway or Airbnb,” Ms de Goicoechea said. “I personally have some of those, and I can tell you that this year the occupancy is not as high as it has been in the past years.

“I believe that is all due to the fact that people feel like the Bahamas is still damaged from Hurricane Dorian. Most people still don’t realise that The Bahamas isn’t just one island; that it’s 17 other populated islands, and 15 of them were not affected. I have a feeling it has a lot to do with that.”

While other Family Islands, especially the likes of Bimini, Exuma and Eleuthera, are expecting to pick-up some of the tourist business that would traditionally have headed to Abaco, Ms de Goicoechea added: “We are not seeing that increase here in Long Island. We’re not booked as much as we have been in the past.

“By now, I would have been completely sold out for January, February and March. I have four units (Airbnb), and I actually have a hotel license through the Bahamas government. My places are nowhere near as booked as they have been in the past years. I have spoken to owners of other rental properties and they have indicated the same thing.”

Aside from reduced vacation rental demand, Ms de Goicoechea said Long Island’s critical economic need is to be designated “an international port of entry” through the expansion of Deadman’s Cay’s airport. This will facilitate international flights and larger aircraft bringing tourists to the island once FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) approval is obtained.

“Nothing has changed,” Ms de Goicoechea said. “As far as I am aware I don’t think that there was any closure of any businesses in 2019. All of the businesses are still operating. Right after they implemented (raised) the VAT a few small businesses closed down.”

Remaining upbeat about the public infrastructure upgrades that are underway on Long Island, Ms de Goicoechea said: “Well, they have expanded the water throughout the island. They completed the first phase, and they have expanded the water from Gray’s into Thompson Bay and they are in the process of doing it for the north of the island. They have plans to complete the whole island.

“That is a big plus for Long Island. They are working on getting quotes and whatever they need to work on getting the airport upgraded. That’s something that’s still moving forward aggressively. We don’t have any private projects; nothing going on like that. Nothing new, unfortunately, for Long Islanders, so pretty much that’s it because we don’t have any direct flights.

“Customers or guests to the island don’t want to have to stop in Nassau or elsewhere, and the airport at this time cannot accommodate larger aircraft. That’s what we’re up against.”

Ms de Goicoechea added, though, that Long Island was beginning to offer more to the visitors it does have through eco-tours and other excursions.

“You have people that are doing bird watching,” she said. “They’re doing eco-tours, they are taking people out and letting them really experience the island life. Some people even take guests out at night if they want to do hiking, or they take them out crabbing. They are really giving them a part of our life here on the island as we experience it here as locals.”