The Tribune

By Annelia Nixon

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president yesterday conceded that air arrivals to New Providence “have somewhat slipped” while cruise passenger visitors continue to expand.

Jackson Weech, also vice-president and general manager of operations for Atlantis, told the BHTA’s 73rd annual general meeting (AGM) that - for many land-based and stopover-dependent tourism businesses - 2025 “did not unfold as strongly as we had hoped”.

“Although our combined results in occupancy, revenue and room nights didn't fully meet our expectations in 2025, our performance indices have clearly clarified where our greatest opportunities lie as we anticipate a robust festive season and then moving confidently into 2026,” Mr Weech said.

“It would be remiss not to reflect upon the fact that air arrivals, our lifeline, has somewhat slipped, while our sea arrivals, comprised largely of cruise passengers, has increased exponentially.” 

Joy Jibrilu, chief executive of the Nassau and Paradise Island Promotion Board, said it has maintained a strong presence at key global tourism trade shows. She pointed to Routes America, which was hosted in The Bahamas in February 2025, adding that it was a milestone for the country that strengthened relationships between The Bahamas and airlines, creating opportunities for future route developments.

“As a result of all our collective efforts at Routes Americas and our continued global initiatives, non-stop airlift to Nassau has never been stronger,” Mrs Jibrilu added. “We're now seeing consistent year-over-year growth across the winter season that began with a plus 2 percent increase in November, followed by a solid 6 percent rise this month as additional services return.

“January builds even further, with an 11 percent increase, and February is leading the outlook at 14 percent, marking our strongest month of projected growth. And with airlift on our side, enhancing visibility among high value travellers becomes even more important.” 

Latia Duncombe, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-general, said: “As we focus on airlift, the first thing that we do is looking at the non-stop routes. It was mentioned earlier. We hosted Routes Americas in the destination - a partnership with NAD (Nassau Airport Development), the ministry and also our promotion boards.

“But it doesn't stop there. When the meetings have ended and the sessions are over, our teams are on the ground in meetings looking at routes, the benefits of the routes, the economic performance of the routes, looking at whether or not, from an operational perspective, we can maintain them or even invite other carriers to come. So when the meetings have ended, there's a lot that starts.”

Mrs Duncombe said the ministry has hired Krishna Rolle to lead its international airlift initiatives, and has also formed an airlift strategic committee.

“At the ministry, we've taken an intentional look at airlift, and we said: ‘You know what, we have to look at it from an international perspective and also from a domestic perspective, not leaving anything on the table’,” Ms Duncombe said. “And very recently, we engaged the services of our new general manager for airlift, Krishna Rolle.

“She has extensive experience. She's now leading our international airlift initiatives. Sitting around the table, she can speak to stations. She's managed stations across multiple countries, in the Caribbean, again, adding more resources that we can now benefit from as a destination.

“We have a newly-formed airlift strategic committee with the Ministry of Tourism, myself, chief executive Jibrilu with Nassau and Paradise Island Promotion Board, and also chief executive Vernice Walkine with NAD. Again, it's a collective destination wide approach as we look at delivering more seats to the destination.”

Jillian Williams, the Grand Bahama Island Promotion Board’s (GBIPB) brand representative, reported that airlift in Grand Bahama is “stable.”

“Airlift remains stable with consistent service to Florida, selects US gateways and Canada,” Ms Williams said. “Seasonal and chartered services continue to support visitor access. And for the period of January through October 2025, foreign air arrivals increased by 21.7 percent year-over-year, demonstrating strengthening demand for the destination. 

“Cruise arrivals have also grown significantly, increasing by 37.5 percent with the launch of Celebration Key, which now contributes major new volume to the island's cruise sector. Existing cruise calls into Freeport Harbour continue to complement these numbers while fast ferry service from South Florida provides additional short stay and day trip traffic.

“Overall, Grand Bahama has experienced a 59.2 percent year-over-year increase in total foreign, air and sea arrivals for January through October 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.”