by Brian Major
Last updated: 10:35 AM ET, Mon July 1, 2024
Bahamas officials are betting government-backed tourism
infrastructure improvements combined with the debut of new Nassau resorts will extend
an unprecedented visitor arrival surge.
Last year, the archipelagic nation hosted an all-time
record 9,654,838 visitors, a 38 percent increase over 2022 and 33 percent over the
previous record, set in 2019 according to the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism,
Investments & Aviation.
The Bahamas’ record 2023 arrivals included a 17 percent
increase in international air arrivals with 1,719,980 visitors.
Meanwhile cruise ship visitors, by far the nation’s primary
visitor source, climbed by nearly 50 percent to 7,934,858 visitors, up from the
5,530,462 cruise travelers who visited in 2022.
Visitor growth has continued this year, albeit at a slightly
slower pace. Bahamas air arrivals totaled 662,815 visitors between January and
April, up 3.5 percent 2023. Cruise visitors for the period totaled 3,210,541,
up 14.5 percent from the 2,769,206 hosted in 2023.
Long the most-visited Caribbean-region cruise port,
Nassau’s 2023 arrivals were boosted by the 2023 opening of the $300 million Nassau
Cruise Port. Bahamas travelers will also find new
properties including the Nassau’s Goldwyn Resorts and Residences and the
revamped classic British Colonial Nassau hotel.
Of course, the destination’s land-based visitation is
driven in large part by the Nassau-based mega-resorts Atlantis
Paradise Island and Baha Mar, while the Paradise Island district
also includes the Sandals Royal Bahamian property.
Joy Jibrilu, who in 2022 became the first
woman and first Bahamian named CEO of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion
Board (NPIPB), is working to continue Nassau’s tourism growth, and by extension
that of the Bahamas.
We spoke with Jibrilu during last week’s Internation Travel
Partners Conference in Nassau to learn about her efforts to extend the
destination’s tourism success.
Mega-resorts including Atlantis Paradise Island drew record visitor arrivals to the Bahamas in 2023. (Photo by Brian Major)
TP: How is the Bahamas preparing for the
upcoming hurricane season?
JJ: It's the public service announcements, it's the
constant reminders to be prepared. Do you have A, B and C? Our preparation has
changed. Grand Bahama taught us something with flooding. Climate change is a
real thing for us; we're seeing flooding in the streets of Nassau. During my
whole childhood [in the Bahamas], this was not a thing, but the level sea level
is rising. So, every hurricane teaches new lessons. On the island of Grand
Bahama we’re building a hurricane shelter. It’s a public-private sector
[project] because government can’t do it all.
TP: How have public-private partnerships
enabled NPIPB to enhance Nassau’s tourism attractions and infrastructure?
JJ: Having worked on [the government] side and seen the
budgets, definitely they can’t do it all. We’ve [completed] public-private
initiatives like the restoration of the Queen’s
Staircase. If we [work] together we can do it. And that will be the
impetus to do more.
TP: Cruise arrivals continue to dominate
Bahamas tourism. How do these travelers rank in terms of profitability versus
land-based vacationers?
JJ: The numbers coming in via cruise [ships] into Nassau itself
are absolutely staggering. Last year 4.8 million passengers came in; this year
it’s going to exceed five million. That’s a lot of people to come in. We now
see 90 percent of all visitors coming into the Bahamas coming in via cruise.
That 90 percent is leaving approximately 10 percent in
terms of visitor spend[ing]. It’s that 10 percent that contributing 90 percent
in terms of growth. So for us, the focus and attention has to be on the [overnight,
land-based] visitor. The average cruise passenger spends approximately $80;
it’s relatively minimal. The average [land] visitor spends $2,000.
TP: What does that imbalance mean for the
Bahamas?
JJ: It’s not to discount the cruise passengers, but we
cannot support everything that the government of the Bahamas needs to do
[including] the tourism infrastructure on those five million cruise visitors. [Nevertheless]
the transformation and renovation of Nassau Cruise Port, a $300 million
upgrade, obviously is [enabling] more cruise passengers to come in. And their
experience is fortunately a seamless one.
TP: Has the Nassau Cruise Port’s opening impacted
the downtown district?
JJ: What was hoped initially was the transformation of
Nassau Cruise Port would cause the immediate revitalization and renaissance of
the downtown area. Bay Street [Nassau’s primary downtown shopping street] needs
a lot of loving. We’ve not seen that happen to the speed we want to, but the
research and surveys are showing us people do want to leave the cruise port.
They are looking for things to do.
TP: How has your agency worked to influence
changes on Bay Street?
JJ: The deputy prime minister [Chester Cooper] and his team
[are] saying we have to do what we can to push this to happen. So all the old derelict
buildings, abandoned buildings that are privately owned, we are going to tear
down.
That alone allows for re-planting of foliage. We are [installing]
murals along the street to create an atmosphere that attracts people. So
there’s a lot of interest now and I think people are seeing the potential.
TP: How is this impacting local tourism
efforts?
People are beginning to see the power of this ready-made
market. The numbers that are coming through there and the opportunity that it
presents makes people think ‘Oh, what if I opened a tea shop there?’ [Visitors]
are begging for things to do.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
