NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Tourism Development Corporation, in partnership with the Bahamas Development Bank, has launched the Home Sweet Home Program, an incentivized grant initiative designed to encourage participation in the lucrative vacation home market.
The initiative was introduced in Georgetown, Exuma, during a town hall meeting on September 28, 2024, with initial funding totaling $2.2 million—$1 million from the Tourism Development Fund and $1.2 million from the Bahamas Development Bank.
The application portal will open on October 7 and remain open for six weeks, closing on November 18, 2024. The Home Sweet Home program aims to empower Bahamian property owners by providing incentives, including a unique combination of loan and grant funding, to help them enter the vacation home market.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation Chester Cooper highlighted the program’s significance. “This initiative provides incentives that encourage Bahamians to access the vacation rental business. We have long encouraged Bahamians to get involved in tourism. There is money to be made, and it fills a gap in terms of the availability of hotel rooms. We are on record stating that we need to double the number of hotel rooms in the country to continue and celebrate the growth we are experiencing. We believe this is a quick way to achieve that, and therefore, we are calling on Bahamians to open their homes,” said Cooper.
He added, “This is a great initiative for Bahamians all across the country as we embark on this significant transformative opportunity to enrich the communities of the Bahamas in all the various islands, while we reduce barriers to entry in the tourism business. We support the ease of doing business generally and encourage domestic entrepreneurship as we increase income and wealth. This is true empowerment. We have long called for the creation of more linkages to tourism and for Bahamians to invest in us, and we are delighted to be doing something about it.”
To be eligible for the program, participants must be Bahamian, have full ownership of their property to serve exclusively as a vacation home rental, and engage with the technical support provided by the Tourism Development Corporation. Additionally, their property must be located within the 16-island destination. The program targets two categories of property owners: those with single or multifamily homes requiring less than $10,000 in funding and those needing more than $10,000.
Property owners interested in the program can register online at tdcbahamas.com. Participants must submit a complete building assessment, recent appraisal, or a recent video description of the facility. The facility will then be inspected by an authorized agent from the Tourism Development Corporation, after which participants must complete the virtual Vacation Home Renters Orientation Training Program.
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