The Bahamas is expecting 4m tourists throughout this year, beating the previous year’s record figures of 3.6m.
Tourist chiefs attributed the rise to the success of The Atlantis resort on Paradise Island. Since its opening in December 1998, hotel revenues in all properties on Nassau and Paradise Island are said to have increased by around 50%.
Bahamas Tourist Office general manager, Europe Jeremy Bonnett is confident this momentum will be sustained.
He said: “We expect good business on the back of this year’s Marketplace.”
Grand Bahama is showing strong potential with a number of hotel projects taking off. Over $60m has been spent so far on the Lucayan resort project on Grand Bahama. One of the three sections of the complex, Reef Village is open now.
The launch by JMC of the first direct charter flights from Gatwick to Grand Bahama as from May 2 is also expected to boost tourist numbers to the island.
Meanwhile, Ritz Carlton has confirmed that it is to open a 250-room hotel on Exuma in 2000.