Category: BHA News

A major mixed-use resort project is projected to generate an annual economic impact ranging from $54 million to $90 million for the Bahamian economy, its principals told Tribune Business yesterday, adding that the 291 lot sales they have closed have brought “hundreds of visitors to Long Island”.

In a series of e-mailed answers to Tribune Business’s questions, Ian Moorcroft, one of the principals behind the Port St George project, earmarked for a site next to Long Island’s existing Stella Maris subdivision, said being debt free had been “critical” to its ability to weather the global recession and credit crunch.
…Continue readingNew Resort To Have Major Economic Impact On The Bahamas

There “is no question” that September, traditionally the softest month of the tourism season, was “weaker than expected” for the resort industry, the Bahamas Hotel Association’s president said yesterday, who has written to banks and utility companies urging them to work with resort properties experiencing increasing cash flow difficulties.
…Continue readingHotels Struggle With Slower Than Expected September

The redesigned Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) will have been one of the most complicated terminals in the Caribbean to build when completed, the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) president and chief executive said yesterday, but will still be cost competitive at only 5-10 per cent above competing hubs.
…Continue readingNassau Airport Costs 5-10% Above Rivals

Over the next several months, hotels and tourism-dependent businesses in The Bahamas will continue to feel the brunt of the impact of the global recession, high US unemployment, and a lack of consumer confidence in the United States, our major source of visitors, according to the Bahamas Hotel Association.  While industry competitive data reveals that The Bahamas is holding up well compared to many areas around the world, hotels and tourism-related business are in a vulnerable state and the next several months are crucial to the operations of a number of businesses.

BHA President Robert Sands advises businesses which are experiencing cash flow difficulties to stay in close contact with banks, utility companies, and vendors to work out payment arrangements if necessary during this difficult period.
…Continue readingBHA President Urges Hotels To Stay Close To Banks and Utilities

Around 400 government employees may soon see their offices moved from Thompson Boulevard to a hotel tower on Cable Beach.

…Continue readingGovernment Employees To Move Into Wyndham Hotel Tower

The Bahamas Hotel Association’s eleventh annual golf tournament takes place this coming Sunday, October 4th at the Cable Beach Golf Course when over 80 golfers will tee off to support the industry’s student scholarship and education programs.
…Continue readingBHA Golf Tournament Tees Off For Scholarships

Thanks to your generous support, over the past five years the Bahamas Hotel Association has been able to award 31 tourism-related scholarships valued at over $100,000 to Bahamian students.   The Bahamas Hotel Association will be hosting its 11th Annual Golf Tournament on Sunday, October 4th at the Cable Beach Golf Course  We hope that once again you will be able to support this worthwhile activity.
 
BHA has significantly stepped up its program of activities and effectiveness in recent years.  Our ability to positively impact a range of issues and activities important to our industry’s future has been tied directly to the level of support from the business community.

Read more for Registration and Sponsorship information. Also, view the Bahamas Calendar video featuring Frank Comito talking about this year’s tournament.

…Continue readingRegister Today For The BHA Golf Tournament

From London to New York via Tunisia and the Norfolk resort of Hemsby, marketers are seeking to give destinations a distinctive personality.

Destination branding seems to be undergoing a resurgence. With consumers having less disposable income to spend on visiting places, locations are competing to make themselves stand out with distinctive brands and marketing campaigns.
…Continue readingDestination Branding Trends

Marsh Harbour, Abaco – Abaco will be marketed as its own destination within the Bahamas just as Nassau/Paradise Island has been for decades, the minister of tourism and aviation said, with Marsh Harbour to receive a new airport runway by next month and 14 American Airlines flights per week.

…Continue readingSeparate Tourism Branding For Abaco

The Central Bank is confirming that hotels in The Bahamas sustained whopping blows to their bottom line in the last quarter — following an earlier Guardian report pinning that decline at 21 percent.

“Preliminary indicators of tourism sector revenues suggest that hotel receipts, across all major markets, declined significantly during the review quarter,” said the bank’s latest quarterly report ending June 2009. “This reflected the combined adverse effects on average earnings of lower occupancy levels, various discounts and other incentive programs.”

The news comes as hotels and resorts throughout the region register record declines, even in the normally active travel season start. They are declines connected in every way to the global recession now clamping down on consumer spending, even on the most basic necessity items.
…Continue readingCentral Bank Notes Decline In Hotels Bottom Line