The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE government has awarded $600,000 in grants under the Home Sweet Home Programme, which aims to help Bahamian property owners enter the vacation rental market through a combination of loan and grant funding.

Dwight Gibson, director of operations at the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), said that 60 recipients each received a $10,000 grant in the programme’s first phase. The corporation received 209 applications. 

The programme was launched in George Town, Exuma, at a town hall meeting in September 2024, with an initial funding of $2.2m, including $1m from the Tourism Development Fund and $1.2m from the Bahamas Development Bank. Applications opened on October 7 for six weeks and closed on November 18, 2024.

To qualify, applicants must be Bahamian, own a property in The Bahamas to be used as a vacation rental, and use the funds for property improvements. Recipients must also submit invoices as proof of expenses.

Mr Gibson said most recipients in the first phase were from the Family Islands, where accommodation shortages have been a long-standing challenge compared to New Providence. 

Grant recipients received their payments in December. Mr Gibson said applicants were informed in a letter whether they were approved. Those who were denied can reapply in the second phase if they address the concerns outlined in their rejection letters.

He described the initiative as an important opportunity for Bahamians to benefit from the tourism industry.

“Clearly, we realise that room availability across the many islands and even here in Nassau, to some extent, can be challenging at times,” he added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper has said the programme will help address the country’s hotel room shortage.

The programme’s second phase began in February, but it is unclear how many applications have been made so far.

The programme targets two categories of property owners: applicants with single or multifamily homes requiring less than $10,000 in funding to enter the vacation home market and applicants with single or multifamily dwellings requiring beyond $10,000 in funding to enter the vacation home market.