Business News
BUSINESS NEWS provides a series of special analyses focused on issues and markets of concern to selective audiences. "Our Tourism Business" includes such topics as tourism performance reports, daily changes in stopovers as result of special events, and impacts of hurricanes on hotel business. It provides basic reports from the Immigration Card database and other indicators showing those markets that are hot and those that are not. "Visitor Voice" showcases visitor satisfaction ratings and comments provided confidentially and individually to members via secure log-in to the site. We hope the articles and reports in this section will be informative and useful. Your comments are always welcome at gyoung@tourismbahamas.org.Hotel group bookings return to pre-recession levels
Group travel is seeing a global rebound, with advanced bookings to The Bahamas now climbing to pre-recession levels, according to the Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA).
Group travel accounts for a little more than a quarter of the stopover business in The Bahamas, according to BHA president Stuart Bowe. It suffered during the recession, but Bowe told Guardian Business yesterday that advanced bookings for the balance of the year and into the next are heading in the right direction.
“Advanced bookings for groups are up considerably and now approaching pre-recession levels. Group business, predominately comprised of business-related groups, represents just over 25 percent of our business,” Bowe said. “Advanced bookings thru 2012 are promising.” Continue Reading
Canadian media reports on Bahamas Trade Mission
Waves of the Bahamas made a splash in Canada as dividends from the Government’s recent Trade and Investment Promotion Mission pays off in the media.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham led a delegation of Parliamentarians that included Minister of Tourism & Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Attorney General John Delaney and Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing. Other officials in attendance were from the Office of the Prime Minister/Bahamas Investment Authority, Ministry of Tourism & Aviation, Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), Bahamas Maritime Authority, Bahamas Financial Services Board, Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, Out Island Promotion Board, Bahamas Real Estate Association, Grand Bahama Port Authority and Bahamas Oil Refining Company (BORCO). Continue Reading
Minister Vanderpool-Wallace participates in tourism summit
Minister of Tourism & Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace joined a delegation of Caribbean tourism ministers this week to advance the first Caribbean tourism summit in Brussels this week. Continue Reading
Baha Mar begins rise
The Bahamas’ largest private sector development project received its groundbreaking ceremony today, just days before government officials are set to open a new international airport terminal – the largest public sector project ever for the country.
With funding of $2.6 billion in place from the Chinese Export Import Bank, Baha Mar marked the beginning of constructing a resort unlike any other in the Caribbean or the entire western hemisphere. Once completed, the resort will feature the Hyatt, Rosewood and Morgans hotel brands, 24 restaurants, retail spaces, gaming space, nightclubs, spas, a Jack Nicklaus golf course and convention facilities. Continue Reading
Baha Mar’s $60-$80m ‘big ticket item’ boost
Courtesy of The Tribune
The inclusion of the “big ticket item” Baha Mar convention centre among the projects that will be built by Bahamian contractors will create a “lot of spin-off” locally, the Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president said yesterday, estimating the contract would be worth $60-$80 million. Continue Reading
Chinese work on new stadium to be finished by June
The new national stadium is scheduled to be turned over to the Bahamian government in June of this year. The announcement was made recently at a special dinner to celebrate the arrival of the first group of leisure travelers from China. Continue Reading
Women’s Forum invited to scout Bahamas investments
Minister of Tourism & Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and other Bahamian officials invited influential women from around the world to look to the islands of the Bahamas for investment opportunities as they welcomed the International Women’s Forum (IWF) to Nassau.
Continue Reading
Bahamas infrastructure and investment catching eye of big companies
Bahamas Minister of Tourism & Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace credited Nassau’s significant infrastructure development and investment with attracting more business from corporations such as MasterCard.
The Minister’s remarks came at a press conference to announce the third consecutive launch of the MasterCard “Find Your Way” promotion in Nassau. The launch comes after the Bahamas government invested more than $44 million to upgrade Nassau Harbour to accommodate mega cruise ships and Nassau’s airport is nearing completion of the first phase of a $400 million expansion project. Continue Reading
Adventure sports tourism push
By INDERIA SAUNDERS Guardian Business Reporter
Rum Cay resort invests $150k to diversify its offerings
Developers of a multi-million-dollar Rum?Cay project have invested more than $150,000 in renovations in an effort to diversify offerings into the adventure sports market — the strategy seen as key to driving visitor arrivals to that southern island. Continue Reading
Hotels 8% RevPAR rise beats region
Courtesy of The Tribune – By NEIL HARTNELL – Tribune Business Editor.
BAHAMIAN HOTELS are “better positioned” than their Caribbean counterparts to raise room rates when recovery comes, a leading hotel consultant said yesterday, with revenue per available room (RevPAR) for this nation’s industry up 8 per cent year-over-year to September 2010 – more than two percentage points better than the Caribbean average. Continue Reading
Minister: Bahamas leads Caribbean cruise business opportunities
The Bahamas offers more opportunity to extract expenditure from cruise passengers than any other destination in the region, Minister of Tourism & Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said during the roof wetting ceremony staged for the new straw market on Wednesday. Continue Reading
Tourism ministry begins skill-building series
A series of skill-building and professional workshops are in store for the senior management team of the Ministry of Tourism & Aviation as the organization equips them to deal with business evolutions, Tourism Permanent Secretary Hyacinth Pratt announced Wednesday. Continue Reading
Cruise ship projected to generate almost $15m
The world’s largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas, which calls on the port of Nassau twice a month, is projected to have generated almost $15 million for the country by the end of this year.
Click here to read the full story on The Tribune’s Website
Cacique Nominations Deadline – October 1, 2010
Below are downloadable nomination forms for The 14th Cacique Awards. Should you wish to nominate a person online, please use the Local Nomination form on Tourism Today or visit caciqueawards.com.
Download Nomination forms:
Tribune Business News
Guardian Business News
Wednesday, September 15th
POWER CAPACITY INCREASE NEEDED FOR BAH MAR
Court may have ended Ginn land issue
Tribune Business News
Tribune Business News
Tribune Business News
Guardian Business News
Tribune Business News
Tribune Business News
Tribune Business News
Tribune Business News
Tribune Business News
Tuesday, August 31st
Hilton’s shareholders battle over $19m loan
How Hilton’s land parcels were freed from collateral
‘No justification’ for US dollar borrowing bar
Harrah’s urges court to approve $12.17m Baha Mar payment
‘Fairly flat’ forecast concerning resorts
No ‘Open Sesame’ for EU tour/travel agent operators
Airlift acquisition targets Out Islands
‘$35m gap’ needs plug for Baha Mar go-ahead
Guardian Business News
Tribune Business News
Tribune Business News
Norwegian Epic docks in Nassau
By CHESTER ROBARDS – Business Reporter – crobards@tribunemedia.net
THE MEGA Cruise Vessel Norwegian Epic pulled into Nassau Harbour yesterday promising around 4,000 more cruise visitors to the island per trip and bringing a possible $7.7 million in passenger spending through 2010.
Minister of Tourism, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, told this paper recently that the spending per visitor has been on the increase this year and although its actual level has yet to be calculated, the mean amount has traditionally been from $80 to $100 per person. And spending by crew who disembark a vessel, and other fees paid per passenger raises that number significantly. Continue Reading
Guardian Business News
Tribune Business News
Tribune Business News
Business News – 2009 In Review
Click here to download the latest issue of Business News detailing the 2009 year in review.
Cacique Awards – January 28th, 2011
Visitor Expenditure Survey
2009 Air, Sea and By Island Visitor Arrivals, December 2009 and YTD
This is the latest available Immigration Department sourced data providing a year-on-year comparison. To view, go to: Bahamas Visitor Arrivals Dec and Total 2009
BHA 2009 Hotel Performance and 2010 Outlook Survey Results
The annual survey gauges industry performance and projections for sales, occupancy, employment levels, profit, capital spending and pricing levels. It also seeks BHA member input on priority areas of activity which the association should be focusing on during the coming year. To view go to: Report-BHA 2009 Industry Performance and 2010 Outlook
European Tourists to Cat Island, Thanks Sky Bahamas
Dear Kenneth, My wife Donna and I are now back in London after 10 glorious days on Cat Island. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to you and all the Sky Bahamas team for making our travel to and from Nassau and Cat Island so smooth and professional. It was most appreciated. Can’t wait to our next trip to the Bahamas!
Continue Reading
IDB Business Competition
The Ministry of Tourism & Aviation has encouraged Bahamians to advance their business ideas through an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) initiative designed to empower lower-income communities throughout the Caribbean.
The initiative is a business plan competition that specifically looks to directly benefit lower income communities through linkages with the tourism sector. Individuals in the Bahamas and other Caribbean countries are being asked to send executive summaries for businesses to the Opportunities for the Majority Office of the IDB. The best entries will be selected for development into business plans, which will be evaluated to find the competition’s winner.
Summary Report of Nassau-Paradise Island Large Hotel Performance, February, 2010
A compilation of data in summary provided to BHA and the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation by large NPI hotels. To view, go to: Summary Report for February 2010 Nassau-PI Hotel Performance
Bahamas Business Outlook [audio]
Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace
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Business News from The Nassau Guardian
A selection of Business stories from The Nassau Guardian including:
- PM: Emerald Bay closure challenges Exuma
- Downs: Four Seasons departure may be a good thing
- Receiver: Emerald Bay debt compounded by $5m this year
- Sources: RIU shuttering for three months
- An Expedia-ted flight Continue Reading
Bahamas visits to get easier for travelers
Minister of Tourism & Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace recently guaranteed influential religious broadcasters that government will make it increasingly easier to travel to all the islands of the Bahamas from outside the country. Continue Reading
Jetting Off To The Islands Of The Bahamas Is More Affordable Than Ever
JetBlue Airways Offers $79 Flights to Nassau/Paradise Island. Continue Reading
Regional Tourism Sector Launch Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency Action Program
The Caribbean tourism sector has taken a major step towards energy efficiency within the hotel industry. Continue Reading
Nassau Water Ferries looking to land $1m in revenue
By INDERIA SAUNDERS,Guardian Business Reporter,Inderia@nasguard.com
Despite the downturn in tourism, the head of Nassau Water Ferries is projecting $1 million in gross income this year, with expectations of increasing that number to $1.6 million with the arrival of a new 250-passenger boat. Continue Reading
Smith urges small retailers onto discounts
By INDERIA SAUNDERS,Guardian Business Reporter,Inderia@nasguard.com
The former state minister for Finance is offering a survival guide for small businesses in a tough economy, driving them to whittle away at overhead expenses and do what many have so far resisted: Slashing prices. Continue Reading
$50M deal signed to dredge Nassau Harbour
By JUAN MCCARTNEY,Guardian Senior Reporter,juan@nasguard.com
The government yesterday committed to spending more than $75 million to undertake the redevelopment of Nassau Harbour, Prince George and Woodes Rogers Wharfs and Arawak Cay. Continue Reading
