NASSAU, BAHAMAS — As traditional hotel capacity in the Bahamas remains constrained, Central Bank Governor John Rolle says short-term vacation rentals, including Airbnb listings, are increasingly filling the gap, helping sustain tourism-driven economic growth.
“Well, in terms of looking at the hotel sector versus the vacation rental, what has been quite interesting in the Bahamas is that the year-over-year, the number of new listings for vacation rental has been steadily increasing. And so that’s also sustaining some of the growth that we’re seeing,” Rolle said. He noted that hotel room availability has largely remained unchanged, and vacation rentals are helping meet demand in key areas where resort capacity is limited.
Official Ministry of Tourism data for September 2025 showed total arrivals grew two point three percent to 0.7 million visitors compared to the same period in 2024. Sea arrivals increased by three point zero percent to 0.7 million, while air arrivals declined five point eight percent to 52,641. Grand Bahama posted notable gains with total arrivals jumping to 113,467 from 29,454 a year earlier, reflecting strong growth in cruise passenger activity. By contrast, New Providence and the Family Islands saw declines in total arrivals of six point eight percent and twelve point eight percent, respectively.
Short-term vacation rental data from AirDNA revealed that total room nights sold edged up zero point four percent to 32,439, though occupancy rates for entire-place listings fell slightly to 29.3 percent due to rising inventories. Hotel-comparable listings saw a modest increase in occupancy to 33.5 percent. Short-term rental listings across major islands grew year-on-year, with Abaco and Grand Bahama up 32.1 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, and Exuma and Nassau rising 10.2 percent and 31.1 percent.
Rolle further explained the constraints in hotel capacity: “In the hotel sector, we haven’t seen any noticeable change in terms of the volume of rooms that are available. And therefore, to some extent, the product mix, whether it’s luxury, mid-price, or budget price facilities, determines how bookings and travel will look. We’ve seen some rooms taken out of capacity on the Cable Beach Strip, and we’re a few years away from some of those being restored. In the case of Paradise Island, some of the capacity is not present or not in use presently. Aside from seasonality, in your peak season, you still don’t have some of the rooms available. Collectively, it impacts how you can market and manage the sector.”
