Central Bank: The Bahamas welcomes 5.3 million visitors between Jan-Oct

Central Bank: The Bahamas welcomes 5.3 million visitors between Jan-Oct

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — From January to October total visitor arrivals to this nation have rebounded to 5.3 million visitors, a 341.5 percent increase over the same period in 2021.

Underscoring the continued. Robust growth in the tourism sector, the regulator noted that visitor arrivals between January to October had rebounded to 5.3 million from 1.2 million during the same period in 2021 when a 30.9 percent contraction was registered. S

“Supporting this outturn, air arrivals accelerated to 1.2 million passengers, exceeding the 79.8 percent growth a year earlier, reflecting gains in all major source markets. Similarly, sea arrivals rose to 4.2 million visitors, a turnaround from a 61.4 percent reduction in 2021,” the regulator noted 

A breakdown by major ports of entry revealed that total arrivals to New Providence increased to 235,282 in October, from 140,581 in the comparative period of 2021. Leading this outcome, the air and sea segments both advanced to 69,408 and 165,875 visitors, respectively.

Visitor traffic to the Family Islands amounted to 308,209 visitors, compared to 106,365 a year earlier, as air and sea visitors measured 13,717 and 294,492, respectively. Further, Grand Bahama attracted 26,663 visitors, exceeding the 13,996 recorded in the previous year, attributed to gains in the air and sea components, of 2,549 and 24,114, respectively.

Assessing the short-term vacation rental market, the Central Bank noted that data provided by AirDNA mirrored the positive trends seen in the industry.

“Specifically, during the month of November, total room nights sold rose to 119,105 from 95,440 in the comparative 2021 period. Contributing to this outcome, the occupancy rates for both entire place and hotel comparable listings increased to 50.3 percent and 48.3 percent, respectively, compared to 50.7 percent and 47.9 percent a year earlier.”