Abaco’s 87,000 stopover visitors in 2012 were down 22 per cent from their pre-recession high, a senior tourism official revealing that negotiations were being held with a major US carrier to provide jet service beyond Miami and help fuel a turnaround.
David Johnson, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-generalm, told the Abaco Business Outlook conference that a new jet service between the Abacos and the US was no more than a season away.
He described Abaco as having the most diversified tourism offering and greatest potential for further economic growth in the Bahamas.
“The Abacos attracted some 95,000 stopover visitors in 2003, and by 2012 it had slipped to some 87,000 stopover visitors,” Mr Johnson said.
