Bahamas’ Stopover Numbers from Canada Increase as US Numbers Soften

• The Bahamas saw an increase in stopover visitors from Canada, amid a softening in stopover visitors from the US this year, when compared to last year, Governor of The Central Bank of The Bahamas (CBOB) John Rolle highlighted. He further highlighted that the tourism sector saw overall earnings increase at a slower rate in the first nine months of this year when compared to 2024, partly due to the decline in US stopover visitors.
• The Ministry of Tourism has put an increased focus on Canadian travel to The Bahamas, as Canadians chose not to visit the US in the wake of comments by US President Donald Trump about Canada, and a trade tussle between the two countries. Rolle said hotel room revenues also decreased over the first nine months of the year. He explained, though, that short-term vacation rentals experienced “healthy earnings” during that same period.
• It was further noted that the Central Bank is tracking an uptick for the last quarter of the year, when compared to the same period in 2024. He added that tourism continues to drive growth in the country, along with foreign investments that have targeted cruise attractions and residential and resort developments.
• Rolle said the recent passage of Hurricane Melissa through the southern Bahamas is not likely to cause a noticeable shift in the country’s economic performance as the year rounds out. “With the passing of the storm impacting the southern Bahamas, we do anticipate that there will be some impact on the fiscal and on economic activity in those areas, but we don’t think we’re at the level where it will alter significantly the economic performance in the last quarter of the year,” he said.

(Source: The Nassau Guardian)