The Bahamas Has Too Many Cruise Ships and Not Enough Hotel High Rollers
Photo Credit: Growing the number of small and boutique hotels in the Bahamas like the Peace and Plenty Hotel in the Exumas, pictured here, is a priority for Bahamas tourism officials. Flickr / Gary J. Wood
Skift Take
Many cruise passengers sail because it's a more economical way to visit a destination. Caribbean countries like the Bahamas have known this for years and are getting more ambitious about trying to attract more flights — a perennial problem — and hoteliers that can help do a better job at growing their economies in the long term.
The Bahamas, like other Caribbean countries, has millions of tourists visiting the destination on cruise ships, but it's travelers who stay in hotels and resorts who are the bigger spenders.
The Bahamas is one of the most well-known Caribbean destinations and the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season didn't have an impact on these islands. The destination is also fresh off a nearly 10 percent year-over-year increase in both U.S. and overseas visitor arrivals in December.
Resorts such as Atlantis, which was at full occupancy for the Christmas and New Year's holidays, had its best holiday season in 15 years, said Joy Jibrilu, director-general of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.
But the good news isn't all-encompassing. While the Bahamas' tourist arrivals have grown nearly 50 percent from 4.1 million in 2000 to more than six million in 2017, visitor spending has dropped 28 percent during the same period. Some 75 percent of visitors to the Bahamas arrive by cruise ship but they on
