Following an unexpected solid first quarter, several New Providence hotels yesterday told The Tribune they were experiencing a slowdown as bookings fell short for May – a decrease likely to have been caused by the timing of the war in Iraq.
Jeremy MacVean, general manager for Paradise Island’s Comfort Suites resort, said May had not started off well for the property.
He explained that during the Iraq conflict, which began in mid-March, the resort did not have as many cancellations as had been anticipated. However, many potential US visitors who would normally have made future travel plans to visit The Bahamas put off decision making until the war ended. March is the key booking month for May vacations and as a consequence of the war, during the period there were no major forward reservations made, causing occupancy levels for this month to fall behind numbers experienced in 2002.
Source: Yolanda Deleveaux, The Tribune
