Bahamas News

New Providence hotels are predicting excellent bookings for the Easter Season, with many forecasting 100 per cent occupancies, coming off the back an impressive Spring Break season.

On the Cable Beach strip, Baha Mar’s Radisson Cable Beach Resort, Wyndham Resort and Crystal Palace Casino, and the Nassau Beach Hotel are all fully booked for April.

Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s executive vice-president of administration and public affairs, said the April bookings matched what was experienced in 2005.

Kerzner Internationals Atlantis resort was reporting equal success, with Ed Fields, vice-president of public affairs, reporting that Easter bookings were as good or better than 2005 levels.

At Comfort Suites on Paradise Island, general manager Jeremy MacVean said occupancy levels had been high throughout March, and were set to continue throughout Aprils Easter season.

Whereas results for march 2005 had been about the same, Mr MacVean said April booking were better than last year. That, though was due to the fact that Easter fell in April this year, he added.

The British Colonial Hilton is set to end march at about 95 per cent occupancy levels, according to Jacob Asher, its director of operations.

he said the hotel’s expectations thus far were for bookings to be in the low 90 per cents towards the end of April.

Spring Break was ending with 100 per cent occupancy at the Nassau Palm, according to general manager Chris Sharpliss.

He said this success repeated last year’s performance.

A strong demand for the Bahamas as a tourism destination has led to the hotels success over the past two years, after rebounding from major hurricanes, according to the Bahamas Hotel Associations vice-president, Frank Comito.

He forecasted a healthy hotel occupancy throughout the first six moths of 2006.

Mr Comito attributed the results not only to consumer demand, but also the effects of sustained marketing by the private sector and the Ministry of Tourism, increased airlift, and other competitive situations.

By A Felicity Ingraham
Tribune Business Reporter