NASSAU, BAHAMAS- Visitor arrivals increased by nearly 8 percent in January compared to the same period last year, reaching one million, primarily driven by a 10 percent rise in sea traffic to 0.9 million, according to recent data from the Central Bank.
The bank’s Monthly Economic and Financial Developments report for February also highlighted a 4.7 percent decline in air passenger arrivals, which fell to 0.1 million.
A breakdown by region showed that total arrivals to New Providence rose by 0.7 percent to 0.5 million, with sea arrivals up by 2.8 percent to 0.4 million, while air arrivals dropped by 6.0 percent to 0.1 million. Arrivals to the Family Islands grew by 18.5 percent to 0.5 million, fueled by a 19.7 percent increase in sea passengers, although air arrivals fell by 3.2 percent to 24,802. In contrast, Grand Bahama saw a 24.6 percent decline in total arrivals to 36,654, primarily driven by a 29.2 percent drop in sea passengers, despite a 16.9 percent rise in air arrivals to 5,749.
The Bahamas recorded a record-breaking 11.22 million overall foreign air and sea arrivals, surpassing the previous year’s number by 16.2 percent and 2019 figures by 54.7 percent. However, air stopover arrivals remained stagnant, a worrying trend for many observers, particularly as this high-value segment typically generates more revenue compared to cruise passengers, despite the latter segment having a higher volume.
The Central Bank report also noted that in the short-term vacation rental market, inflows showed improvement compared to 2024. According to AirDNA data, February saw a 6.2 percent increase in total room nights sold, reaching 51,986. However, due to an increase in listings, occupancy rates for hotel-comparable listings and entire place listings fell by 4.7 percentage points to 57.2 percent and by 3.6 percentage points to 52.4 percent, respectively. The average daily room rate (ADR) for entire place listings rose by 3.4 percent to $690.00, while the ADR for hotel-comparable listings declined by 1.5 percent to $192.07.
