`Double-digit`tourism decline Tuesday, July 24th 2007   Total tourist arrivals to the Bahamas slumped by alarming double-digit numbers during April and May 2007, falling by 15 per cent and 11 per cent respectively, statistics that showed this nation`s competitive advantage in its key industry is being rapidly eroded. Ministry of Tourism showed that total arrivals to Nassau and Paradise Island during April 2007 were down significantly by 16 per cent, while total arrivals to Grand Bahama fell by 11 per cent and the Family Islands saw a 14 per cent decrease. Particularly alarming were the decline in cruise ship arrivals for that month, with the number of cruise visitors to the Bahamas in total down by 17 per cent, and those to Nassau/Paradise Island down by 20 per cent. For the five months ending on May 2007. the number of higher spending air arrivals to the Bahamas were down by 7 per cent. Air arrivals to Nassau/Paradise Island were down by 9 per cent: Grand Bahama by 5 per cent; Cat Island by 19 per cent; Exuma by 7 per cent: Inagua by 22 per cent: and San Salvador 10 per cent. Combined air and sea arrivals to May 2007 were down by 6 per cent, with Nassau/Paradise Island experiencing a 6 per cent decline; Grand Bahama down by 13 per cent; and the Family Islands off by 2 per cent. On the cruise visitors side, cruise arrivals in total to May 2007 were down by 5 per cent. Nassau/Paradise Island was off by 5 per cent; Grand Bahama was down 15 per cent; and the Family Islands were down on 2006 by 17 per cent. Russell Miller, the Bahamas Hotel Association`s (BHA) president, said the visitor declines were a wake-up call for the Bahamas, adding that Bahamians can no longer assume they have a competitive advantage over other Caribbean countries. Mr Miller said: "We have to wake up and realise that there is real competition out there, and we have to pay attention to these indicators - that people are coming here, not enjoying their stay and choosing not to return." While he acknowledged that the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) was partly responsible for the decline, a larger effect was that other destinations were stepping their game up. "1 just got back from Cancun last night, and they have rebounded significantly from the hurricane. The overall experience from the airport experience, the service level, were outstanding. They have not returned to the levels that they were before: they have exceeded it," Mr Miller said. He added that Cancun was also benefiting from a $30 million marketing blitz. One area of concern from the WHTI was the impact it would have on group travel. The April statistics confirmed what Bahamian hotels had also said - that Spring Break travellers to this country have significantly dropped. Just this weekend, during his keynote address at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce banquet, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham noted the `effect that WHIZ would have on Bahamian tourism:"WHTI has created for the Bahamas a levelling of the competitive framework, meaning that a critical advantage of the Bahamas over the rest of the Caribbean has been lost," Mr Ingraham said. "Erosion of this advantage, when coupled with the introduction of low-cost, low fare airlift provided by carriers like Jet Blue and Spirit Airlines, makes the wider Caribbean much more accessible and affordable to the US consumer." The Ministry of Tourism data showed April air arrivals to islands such as Eleuthera. Abaco, and Bimini remained positive, rising by 3 per cent, 1 per cent and 3 per cent respectively. Andros island saw air arrivals rise as well by 1 per cent. However, air arrivals to the country`s two main cities were down by double digits, on Nassau/ Paradise Island by 11 per cent and Grand Bahama 12 per cent. Cat Island saw the largest decrease in air arrivals for April,falling by 35 per cent, followed by the Berry Islands at 26 per cent, Exuma at 16 per cent, San Salvador at 15 per cent and Cat Cay by 14 per cent. In May, the Ministry reported that air arrivals to Andros were up by 59 per cent, to Cat Cay by 31 per cent, the Berry Islands by 14 per cent and that again Long Island was able to begin rebounding from its airport troubles. However, overall air arrivals for the month were down by 9 per cent. Nassau/Paradise Island remained in the negative double digits of 12 per cent, slightly behind the 15 per cent drop in Exuma. Grand Bahama declined by 3 per cent, Abaco by 4 per cent, Bimini by 3 per cent, Cat Island by 12 per cent, the Ministry said. Year-to-date air arrivals showed that Abaco, Andros, the Berry Islands, Bimini, Cat Cay and Eleuthera were up. Long Island saw a massive increase of 121 per cent. Source: The Tribune

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