NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A senior tourism executive said yesterday that out island resort properties closed out 2023 by beating room revenue targets by nearly 10 percent, with one resort operator boasting a “fantastic” 2022 performance as “many weeks looked like summer.”
Kerry Fountain, The Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board’s executive director told Eyewitness News that while data was still being received from member properties regarding total room nights sold last December, room revenue numbers will be at least 94 percent of what was achieved in the record 2019 year-prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The BOPIB’s room revenue goal for 2022 was 86 percent.
Molly McIntosh, the Bluff House Beach Resort & Marina’s general manager told Eyewitness News, “Green Turtle Cay had a fantastic season in 2022 and even for the last two months of the year. Many weeks looked like the summer.”
She continued: “We had a great fall season with November and December being very busy with weddings and private pilot groups, much more revenue-generating than we have seen in the past for those two months.”
Macintosh noted that there were some supply chain issues that impacted the ability to secure supplies needed to run the restaurants and hotel but nonetheless the guests and tourists all were happy and booked their next trips before they even left.
“One concern is with costs going up so quickly and so much. Our labor costs have increased and the cost of living is huge for our employees. No affordable housing available is a huge problem. Just as an example the cost of mayonnaise went from $17 a gallon to $36 a gallon in 6 months; don’t ask about cooking oil and of course, everyone knows the cost of eggs. We are going to have to increase our prices and will just hope that this doesn’t deter people from coming to us. All that said we are very much looking to a fabulous 2023 and the forward bookings are reflecting a great year,” said Macintosh.
She noted that the resort’s marina business had been sluggish which she attributed to the fact that the resort no longer has the facilities to sell gasoline and diesel. “Since hurricane Dorian destroyed our marina, we have rebuilt it and it is new and nicer than before the storm but the fuel company has said they will not invest in us to rebuild the fuelling station which is very disappointing and upsetting after Bluff House spent over $2 million dollars to rebuild our 40 slip marina.”
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