Indications are that the domestic economy continued to experience positive, although mild, growth in July, featuring steady gains in tourism sector output and foreign investment and public sector related construction activity.
Higher global food prices translated into a modest firming in average domestic consumer prices.
Government’s overall deficit widened over the eleven months of FY2011/12, as increased spending offset the rise in revenue collections.
In the monetary sector, bank liquidity remained at elevated levels, amid weakness in private sector demand, which continued to be constrained by elevated levels of debt and unemployment. The external reserves position contracted, due partly to banks’ profit repatriations and the traditional upturn in net foreign currency demand in the latter half of the year.
Preliminary tourism sector data for the seven months of the year showed an increase in overall activity, benefitting from the ongoing recovery in key source markets and the impact of public/private sector incentive programmes to boost occupancy levels.
Total visitor arrivals strengthened by 8.1% to 3.67 million, extending the 7.0% gain of 2011. Notably, there was a rebound in air traffic by 8.6%, in contrast to the prior year’s 3.3% contraction, while growth in the dominant sea component tapered to 8.0% from 2011’s 10.9%.
Disaggregated by first port of entry, visitors to New Providence were up by 12.0% to 1.97 million, on account of a 13.2% surge in sea traffic and a robust 9.7% gain in the high value-added air segment. Similarly, the number of tourists to the Family Islands expanded by 5.9%, occasioned by improvements in both sea (6.5%) and air (1.2%) arrivals. In contrast, the Grand Bahama market fell marginally by 0.1%, as the 2.0% reduction in the larger sea segment overshadowed the 14.4% rise in air visitors.
