The Bahamian tourism sector could earn $20 million in extra revenues if this nation was able to increase the number of cruise ship passengers returning to its shores as stopover visitors by one per cent, Frank Comito, executive director of the Nassau Tourism Development Board told The Tribune.
In an interview, Mr Comito said the hotel sector and other tourism vendors had to find more creative ways to tap into the cruise ship market more effectively if they hoped to experience significant growth in the industry.
If the hotel sector wa to expand its visitor base, Mr. Comito said it had to find a way to “bump up” the conversion rate from cruise ship passenger to overnight hotel stopover visitor. Six per cent of the country’s overnight visitors had their first experience in The Bahamas on a cruise ship and if the hotel sector could increase that number by just one per cent through aggressive marketing initiatives, it would gain an additional $20 million in revenue.
Earlier this year, Jeremy MacVean, president of The Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA) highlighted the significant expenditure differences between stopover visitors and crusie ship passengers. Stopover visitors, who spent an average of four days in The Bahamas, spent $275 per capita per day, leaving $1,100 in this nation’s economy, while cruise ship passengers spent an average of $72 per capita per day.
Source: Yolanda Deleveaux, The Tribune
