By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said yesterday the Bahamas, in particular New Providence, will make millions of dollars because of this weekend’s Carifta Games.

Mr Wilchcombe said hotel occupancy is almost at 100 per cent and that Bahamasair is doing extremely well with bookings. However, he said, there is still a concern that airline ticket prices are too high and are discouraging people from coming to the Bahamas.

“If you try to get a hotel room in the Bahamas right now, especially in Nassau, it is very difficult. We are showing almost 100 per cent occupancy all over the island. A number of events are happening, not only Carifta, we have an icon of America, her daughter is here and she has brought a number of people with her and there are also a number of events taking place in the Bahamas right now, but, of course, the big one is Carifta. We are showing significant signs of growth, but we are concerned that the airline rates are still high. But that’s what happens with demand and we all know if the demand is there the rates are going to go up. We are thinking about how we can fix that because we don’t want people to go other places, but we feel very good and we want to continue to build and in the next several months we expect continued growth,” he said.

“Millions will be made this weekend, all the hotels will be very, very pleased. We don’t have the exact figure, of course you have to wait until afterwards, but you are talking about a significant amount of money and, of course, the cruise business is still there as well and millions of dollars will be made this weekend.”

Mr Wilchcombe said while the ministry is happy and grateful for the money that will be made, they have to ensure that it is sustained throughout the year.

“It’s good,” he said, “but you have to sustain it. We know that our numbers are looking good. We know we have a number of events on the table, a number of groups coming in and we have some major events coming up so we know for the next several months we are going to be very good. But the ministry is seeking to ensure its sustainability for the entire year. You don’t wanna have these high rises and then when you get to September you start going down, you want to make sure numbers stay high. If we do that the occupancy levels will be good, which means more money will be spent, which means employment will be good, which is good for the economy which means we will get to a higher yield – which is what we want in tourism.”

The 2013 Carifta Games are scheduled to be held at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium this weekend, opening today through Monday. The games will mark the seventh time the event has been held in the Bahamas.