The month of September was yesterday described by the Bahamas Hotel Association’s (BHA) president as “a total disaster” for the industry with another executive telling The Tribune that most tourism-related businesses were reporting that their business during the month was down by an average of 10 per cent upon last year’s comparative.
Frank Comito, executive director of the Nassau Tourism and Development Board, said that while hotels and other tourism related businesses had generally enjoyed “very encouraging” improvements upon their 2002 performance, it was possible that poor the September “may wash those gains out.” September 2002 had also been a soft month.
Meanwhile Jeremy MacVean, the BHA’s president, told The Tribune that some hotels “are barely surviving” and the industry’s performance would look worse if the occupancy and room rate figures for Kerzner International and The ocean Club properties were stripped out.
Although he was still awaiting September arrivals figures and other data fromthe Ministry of Tourism, Mr. MacVean said, “September was the worst September for the hotel industry in The Bahamas in living memory for most people. It was a total disaster. there was nothing there at the beginning and it never got going.”
Among the factors affecting the hotel industry’s performance were the absence of group and convention business, the US tourism market’s psyche as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and the warmer than normal summer enjoyed by much of Europe, which lasted into late September and meant travellers were not encouraged to seek sunnier climes.
The US travel advisory issued over Hurricane Isabel had also acted as a barrier to the sector’s performance improving.
Mr. MacVean said he thought the Bahamas needed to improve its marketing as a destination, as other countries currently appeared to be doing a better job.
He added, “The only increase is through cruise ship arrivals. the land-based tourism is flat this year compared to 2002 – there’s been no gain at all in terms of bodies coming in.”
Source: Neil Hartnell, The Tribune
