However, there was a slight decrease in average room occupancy of 2.8 per cent, latest statistics show.
The overall year-end figures also showed an increase in the average daily room rate of 5.3 per cent from $155.90 in 2002 to $164.22 for 2003.
In an interview with The Guardian earlier this month, Jeremy MacVean, president of The Bahamas Hotel Association said that despite the less than spectacular overall performance for last year, hoteliers are very optimistic for the first quarter 2004.
According to Mr. MacVean, who is also general manager at Comfort Suites, hoteliers who attended the BHA bi monthly on Feb. 5 reported single digit increases for the year compared to 2003 and were predicting positive overall results for the first quarter.
The BHA president said that a lot of the hotels were seeing significant increases in Internet bookings either directly or through travel sites like Expedia or Travelocity, a trend he described as growing at a fundamental rate especially over the last eighteen months.
In a recent press briefing earlier this month, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation also predicted positive growth for the regional tourism sector for 2004. According to the CTO, the Caribbean tourism sector could grow by four or five per cent this year.
Martella Matthews, The Nassau Guardian
