The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM, Investments and Aviation Minister Chester Cooper revealed yesterday that tourist arrivals have been on “an upward trajectory” since last November despite the economic fall-out from COVID-19.

“As we see the increased numbers of vaccinated persons in key source markets, Bahamas stopover tourist arrivals are now approaching 2019 levels for the corresponding periods,” he said in the House of Assembly yesterday.

“In fact, from some key source markets, the numbers are well beyond their 2019 levels. We have seen the strongest recovery among stopover travellers from the US, since the restrictions on international travel implemented in Canada and Europe severely impacted the level of interest in travel from those markets.

“In September 2021, total international stopover arrivals to The Bahamas from our key source markets were only 12.1 percent below September 2019 figures, with arrivals from the United States running at only one percent below September 2019. Meanwhile, arrivals from Canada, down 53.5 percent, the United Kingdom, down by 54.6 percent, and Europe improved as their restrictions on international leisure travel slowly lifted.”

Still, Mr Cooper said the government feels confident about the nation’s tourism recovery, insisting “we are coming back with a vengeance.”

He said: “As Air Canada and British Airways come back on stream along with the new Virgin transatlantic service to Nassau, we are confident of the return of our Canada, UK and European markets. Yes, we are coming back with a vengeance. Certain Latin American markets also showed a significant recovery, with some exceeding their pre-COVID volumes.

“The outlook for air travel from our key source markets for October to December has improved significantly, with bookings over the period trailing the same period in 2019 by just 10 percent, buoyed by the positive outlook for US travellers. International air capacity to The Bahamas is expected to be down by 20.6 percent in October 2021, compared to October 2019, while the outlook for October to December 2021 is expected to trail the same period in 2019 by only 9.7 percent.”

Relating to the country’s key tourism market – the United States, the minister said officials are seeing increased demand with “new markets and increased frequencies on the rise.”

He also spoke about the success of the country’s home porting initiative.

He said: “In relation to cruising, our home porting initiatives with various cruise lines started in July, with a series of luxury small ship cruises to Family Island ports. Meanwhile, cruise lines with larger ships have been sailing to Nassau, Freeport, and their private island attractions. Itineraries that sail out of Nassau also have helped to contribute to the uptick in stopover activity, from pre and post-cruise guest stays in country, while the cruise lines themselves are making better use of local linkages for provisioning and fueling their ships. “Encouragingly, there are over 300 ships booked to call into Nassau between October and December. This is a remarkable recovery and translates to approximately four ships a day between now and December at the Port of Nassau.”

In view of these promising signs, Mr Cooper said the re-opening of the downtown Straw Market is “imminent”.

“We must continue to support linkages to tourism and encourage Bahamians to get involved with the creation of more tours, heritage and cultural experiences, bars, restaurants and entertainment opportunities in touristic zones. Please know that this administration will support these efforts through the various funding agencies of the government, namely the SBDC, Venture Fund, Tourism Development Corporation and the Bahamas Development Bank,” he added.

Before the FNM was thrown out of office in the September election former Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar had confidently predicted a strong return of the tourism market before the end of the year – which the Davis administration has now inherited.