The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president yesterday confirmed the industry has “a major concern” that higher fuel prices will dampen boating/yachting demand over the “crucial” summer months.

Peter Maury told Tribune Business that global oil market volatility, which has been worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was “a big problem” as evidenced by the frequency with which the issue was discussed at last weekend’s West Palm Beach Boat Show.

“We were talking about it all weekend,” he disclosed. “There were at least a dozen Bahamas marinas there, and all were talking about the same thing. Everybody was very concerned about it. We heard a lot of people saying they’d be better off visiting the [Florida] cays.

“Everybody was asking about the clearance process, what the cost of fuel is. Do we still have to get a [COVID] test? Do we still have to do the Health Travel Visa? It all adds up. The big problem is if the fuel prices change people are a little stretched. It’s going to make it tough for travel.”

Based on present gasoline prices in Nassau, Mr Maury said it was likely Family Island prices are now over $7 per gallon with diesel and commercial fuel - the types used by boaters - usually not too far behind, with the difference typically being less than $1 per gallon between the two.

Global oil prices currently appear to have stabilised, having come down from recent peaks. The US West Texas Intermediate benchmark last night had oil priced at $105.1 per barrel, a modest 0.81 percent increase on the day, while Brent Crude was trading at $111.2 per barrel having risen just 0.91 percent.

However, the ABM president said marinas in the central and southern Bahamas were fretting that boaters will elect to conserve costs by remaining in the northern Bahamas - around Grand Bahama, Bimini and the Abacos - this summer, thus limiting the impact of spending by the sector’s high-yielding customers and concentrating it in just a few islands.

“That’s what we’re worried about to be honest,” Mr Maury said. “To be honest, it just seems like it’s hard to figure out exactly what we can expect. We have two more weeks to Easter, so obviously this is a crucial period for us. The summer is really when the families, the gas guzzlers, the south Florida visitors come.

“A lot of the big yachts move north and we get more of the south Florida boaters. They’re not going to move all the way through. They will find themselves in Grand Bahama and Bimini. They will not make it this far. It’s not good. That’s a major concern. We were really hoping for a strong summer but it doesn’t look like we’re going to get there with these fuel prices. It’s not what we wanted but it is what it is. We’re just hoping for the best.’

“I think the impact could be considerable. Obviously if fuel increases, inflation on everything increases, and you add the COVID test, the Health Travel Visa and the cost of the visa, we’re not as attractive.”

Mr Maury said higher, more volatile fuel prices had yet to impact Bahamian marinas as bookings from now through to Easter had already been made with boaters having planned their trips in advance. He added that occupancy at his Bay Street Marina was likely to be in the mid-70 percent range through Easter.

“I think everybody is kind of wondering: ‘Where do we go from here?’,” he added. “It’s hard to say to be honest. We’re all looking at bookings for the next couple of weeks. Nobody is really taking on bookings for summer yet. Once we get through this, we will start to see bookings for late May and early June, and hopefully they will go through July 4 and beyond depending on hurricane season.

“There’s a lo of interest in the industry, but at the same time everybody is asking: What is the cost of fuel in The Bahamas? Our summer travellers tend to be a bit more concerned about that.”