Copyright thenassauguardian
Baha Mar Senior Vice President Robert Sands said yesterday that after a slow season, occupancy levels at the mega resort are improving going into the holiday season. September and October are considered slow months in the tourism sector. “Well, you know we would have come off a slow September,” he said in an interview while at Baha Mar. “[However], then the momentum started for the hotels as we begin to go into November, and we have a very solid month for November.” He continued, “We’re very excited about our group base for the first quarter of 2026, and so things look fairly positive for certainly the rest of this year and the first quarter of next year. “Notwithstanding that Hurricane Melissa dampened slightly the momentum we had, but we think we appraise, thank God, that damage has been minimal. “Our hearts and prayers are for those in a competitive country of Jamaica and the other Caribbean islands, but I think tourism is a very resilient industry.” Hurricane Melissa severely impacted Jamaica and Cuba, then made its way to The Bahamas as a Category 1 storm. Recently, Deputy Director General in the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation (MOTIA) Valery Brown-Alce said the ministry’s strategy to increase stopover visitors has made this a key year for growth, as the country faces a strong finish to 2025 and a great first quarter in 2026. “We’ve got a tight plan and strategy, but very targeted,” said Brown-Alce. “We’re not looking out there like pie in the sky. It is data driven. We’re on point, and we know how to get the business. “So, where we are right now is our partners are working with us ... and we see this being a key year. We’re moving forward and increasing stopover business. I think that’s the whole thing. The increase of stopover business. We’re going to finish strong in 2025, and we’re already looking great for the first quarter of 2026.” According to Ministry of Tourism statistics, the country averaged roughly 6.2 million tourists in the years prior to 2019, when it initially broke a record with 7.24 million arrivals. In 2020, there was a drop in total arrivals, with just 1.79 million arrivals, but a steady increase in 2021 to 2.1 million. In 2022 there was a 233.3 percentage growth in arrivals year-on-year, with just over seven million arrivals. In 2023, the country broke its 2019 record with 9.654 million arrivals, which was shattered with 11.216 arrivals for 2024. The trajectory for the first half of 2025 sets tourism arrivals to be on pace for roughly 10.4 million arrivals, a drop from 2024.
