Category: BHA News

Tourism officials in Grand Bahama are hoping that a number of initiatives launched on the island, including the hosting of several segments of the Miss Universe Pageant in August, will help to boost tourism numbers and thus the ailing economy.
…Continue readingTourism Officials Hope Miss Universe Will Boost Grand Bahama Tourism

The Miss Universe 2009 contest will be held at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, The Bahamas and will be televised around the world. With a world stage, The Bahamas…Continue readingBahamas on Show During Miss Universe Pageant

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham says the most serious impact that the global financial and economic crisis has had on small Caribbean economies, like The Bahamas, has been the downturn in the tourism industry.
…Continue readingEconomic Crisis Battering Bahamas Tourism

Earnest efforts and promotions to attract visitors to countries in the Caribbean region, including the Bahamas, have so far failed in bringing the number of tourists to our shores to match last year’s numbers, Prime Minister Ingraham revealed.

Speaking at the Regional Forum on the Occasion of the Inter-American Development Bank’s 50th Anniversary in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Friday, Mr Ingraham said that despite serious discounting and other incentives offered in the travel and hotel deals, occupancy levels remain well below those achieved last year by all of the Caribbean tourism economies.

And on the employment front, he said, to date the economic downturn has resulted in 2,200 lay-offs in the Bahamas’ hotel sector, which amounts to one per cent of the country’s entire work force.

Mr Ingraham said that the Bahamas was one of the first countries in the region to feel the effects of the slowing global economy.
…Continue readingTourism Suffering Despite Promos and Incentives

Bahamas’ Ambassador Cornelius A. Smith is worried that the “twin pillars” of his country’s economy – tourism and offshore banking – are cracking under the global economic crisis and U.S. efforts to close foreign tax shelters.
…Continue readingBahamas Tourism Faces Grim Economic Outlook

It’s unclear what if any new resources the Ministry of Tourism will throw at its Hotel Licensing Unit in an effort to bring as many as 1,000 second homeowners — now treating their properties like hotels — into compliance with the new law. In fact, the department’s head tells Guardian Business the government will be largely dependent on the honesty of those proprietors to win what could be millions of dollars in revenue.
…Continue readingGov’t Yet to Empower New Hotel Legislation

Downtown Nassau visitors are getting personal attention in identifying attractions and having their questions addressed through the corps of Tourism Ambassadors recently organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation.
…Continue readingDowntown Tourism Ambassadors Cater To Visitors

Fellow Tourism Industry Professionals… You are invited to attend the opening exhibition of paintings by Nettica Symonette at the Central Bank this Friday.  Nettie is a Lifetime Director of BHA…Continue readingNettie Symonette’s Art Exhibition

As the tourism sector on the island continues to dwindle, one resort is repositioning itself to cater to visitors rather than tourists.
…Continue readingNew Approach to Tourism For Pelican Bay Resort

The first step in the $409.5 million makeover of the nation’s main gateway is complete as government and Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) officials broke ground on the project at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) last Thursday.
…Continue readingNAD Breaks Ground on $409 Million Airport Expansion