NASSAU, Bahamas, July 5, 2024 — Visitors spent an estimated $5.4 billion in The Bahamas last year, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, The Nassau Guardian reported today in an article written by Senior Reporter Taneka Thompson.
At a press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, Director General of Tourism Latia Duncombe said stopover visitors on average spent $2,595.57 per person per trip to The Bahamas, or $425.50 per day.
While that figure is less than the $2,643 spent per person per trip in 2022, Duncombe said when the figures are broken down on a per night basis, growth is seen.
For stopover visitors, the average spend per night in the country was $323 in 2019; $363 in 2021; $410 in 2022; and $426 in 2023.
Figures for 2020 were not provided. That year marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when most of the world was shut down to global travel.
“We’re seeing growth,” Duncombe said. “We’re seeing progress.”
Cruise ship passengers are also spending more in the country, according to Ministry of Tourism figures.
They spent an average of $109.40 per visit in The Bahamas last year compared to $84.10 in 2022; $58.70 in 2021 and $77.60 in 2019.
The new cruise port in Nassau at Prince George Wharf — home to new restaurants and shops — is one reason officials gave for this increased spending.
Duncombe noted that the average spend of cruise passengers in the Family Islands has also increased significantly — from $27.80 in 2019 to $133.70 in 2023.
“There’s always an opportunity for them to spend more,” she said.
“The more products and services that we have, the more authentically Bahamian experiences we can give them, the more our visitors will be happy to cover those costs.”
Compared to 2019, the country’s hotel room inventory is smaller.
There are approximately 16,105 hotel rooms in the country for the 2023-2024 period compared to 17,618 in 2019, a decrease of about 8.5 percent.
There are 283 hotels in the country compared to 322 in 2019.
Duncombe said visitors have been asking for an all-inclusive family option.
“This was an amazing product when we had the Melia [open] so this is one of the things that our investment team is looking into and they are doing their part from that perspective,” she said.
There are more than 5,000 vacation rentals in The Bahamas. This sector has generated $28 million in revenue from January to May 2024, Duncombe said.
Tourism officials have previously said The Bahamas welcomed a record 9.65 million visitors last year. This represents a 38 percent increase over 2022 and a 33 percent increase compared to the previous 2019 record.
In the first five months of this year, there were 4.8 million visitor arrivals – a 13.5 percent increase over the same period last year.
Of this figure, 821,334 were air arrivals, 61,694 were sea arrivals while 3.9 million were cruise ship passengers.
Officials have projected a record 12 million visitor arrivals in 2024.
