Tourism Minister  Dionisio D’Aguilar took delight on how thing have shaped up for the country’s number one industry when he revealed that for the last six months figures show an upward trend leading to double digit growth. 

Mr. D’Aguilar confirmed  what Tourism officials boasted just a day before.

“Well we have seen upward trends for six months now and we now have this program called Forward Keys, which allows us to go forward six to eight months and see what tickets as of today have been purchased and when we compare to the same period last year, double digit growth is being projected based on these forward projections. 

“It seems, and I have said it often and I’ve said it on the political trail that the Bahamas is hot right now and what we are seeing is a substantial increase of double digit growth in the most important component or our tourism arrivals which is the stopover visitors. 

“You’ve had record arrivals at the airport, you’re hearing these reports at Expedia and that is reflecting in our numbers today,” Mr. D’Aguilar said. 

“I am waiting for my March numbers so that I can have a first quarter report.  I should get that today, but I’m projecting a significant growth in our stopover visitors,” he said.

Like the group Expedia indicated, Mr. D’Aguilar, a former Baha Mar Director under its original developer, agrees that the multi-billion dollar beach front luxury property, is a factor in the growth. 

“There is no doubt that the fact that Baha Mar is bringing on or is in the process of bringing on 2,400 rooms is going to have a significant impact on our arrivals, but what it has also done, as was the case when Atlantis came on stream back in 1994, is its causing the market to refresh, to renovate, to upgrade to offer different products.

“I speak often with Atlantis and I was fearful that maybe with the coming on stream of Baha Mar that that would have a negative effect on Atlantis and that has not been the case.

“Atlantis is expecting and projecting robust growth, double digit growth and its maintaining its room revenue.  So I’m very encouraged that the old adage build it and they come, is bearing fruit in the case of The Bahamas,” Mr. D’Aguilar said. 

On Monday, the Expedia group revealed that bookings for The Bahamas increased by 41 percent.

The Expedia Group offers a free revenue management solution that reaches over 75 countries, with 35 languages that has access to over 590,000 properties.