Bahamas ranked top five pick for future travel destination

Bahamas ranked top five pick for future travel destination

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A popular online travel company yesterday ranked The Bahamas in the top five among Caribbean destinations its members are most likely to travel to over the next two years.

Lara Barlow, Travelzoo general manager was speaking a Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association web series “Gauging Consumer Travel Sentiments”.

She noted that based on a recent survey, The Bahamas ranks second among its U.S. members and fourth among its Canadian members as a Caribbean destination they would most likely travel to over the next two years.

“When we look at the Caribbean islands that people want to visit most in the next two years we find that for US travelers the US Virgin Islands ranked number one, now outranking one of our longtime favorites which is The Bahamas. For our Canadian members Cuba and the Dominican Republic remain at the top,” said Barlow.

With regards to accommodations, Barlow said: “We asked our members when they book their next destination where do they plan to stay and what we found was that for both Americans and Canadians, all-inclusive, chain hotels really ranked number one.

“The reason being is that members felt that the chain properties had stricter safety guidelines and protocols. Canadians are even more likely to chose this accommodation type. Undecided does rank second which means there is an opportunity to shift share not just between destinations but between accommodation types.”

Susan Catto, head of content and publishing at Canada Travelzoo noted that with regards to COVID-19 restrictions and protocols its U.S. and Canadian members indicated they were more likely wear a mask in some places and submit an online health visa.

They also indicated that they were less willing to quarantine in a hotel or government facility and follow a nightly curfew.