Decreased tourism earnings and construction sector ”softness” were yesterday identified by the Central Bank of The Bahamas as the primary factors behind the economy’s third quarter weakening compared to the first half and 2002 comparative period, with hotel room revenues down by 4.4 per cent compared to last year.
However, the Central Bank gave an optimistic assessment that the Bahamian economy may have passed the bottom of the three year economic downturn, saying that the outlook for both tourism and construction had ”significantly improved” since the third quarter.
The regulator, inits third quarter review of the domestic economy, said: ”Firming employment trends in the continued sectoral croadening of the economic expansion in the US were expected to stimulate increased growth in the Bahamas’ tourist sector. Meanwhile, the anticipated start of significant foreign investment projects in the hotel sector should boost construction ouput in 2004.”
The Central Bank report again indicated just how reliant the Bahamian economy is on external factors to drive growth and employement, with the government depending heavily on foreign direct investment projects such as Kerzner International’s $600 million Phase III expansion on Paradise island, to revive an economy that has experience minimal to negative growth over the past three years.
Source: Neil Hartnell, The Tribune
