Visitor arrivals in March reach one million

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas recorded one million visitor arrivals in March, according to data released by the Central Bank yesterday.

The regulator in its Monthly Economic and Financial Development Report for the month of March noted that preliminary data showed the tourism sector at a robust pace in March, reflective of the relaxed COVID-19 conditions and persistent pent-up demand in key source markets.

Official data provided by the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) revealed that total passenger arrivals expanded to one million in March, up from 0.6 million in the same period of 2022. 

“Specifically, the dominant sea segment increased to 0.8 million, from 0.5 million visitors in the previous year. In addition, air traffic reached 0.2 million—representing 92.7 percent of the pre-pandemic high that was recorded in 2019,” the Central Bank noted.

Total arrivals to New Providence increased to 0.5 million, up from 0.3 million in the prior year. 

“On a year-to-date basis, total arrivals rebounded to 2.6 million, compared to 1.4 million in the corresponding 2022 period. Contributing to this outcome, air arrivals grew to 0.5 million passengers, from 0.3 million in the prior year, with increases across all major source markets. Likewise, sea arrivals more than doubled to 2.1 million visitors, vis-à- vis one million in the previous year,” according to the Central Bank.

As it relates to the vacation rental market, total room nights sold rose to 195,231, up from 142,289 in 2022.