By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Nassau’s was yesterday ranked as the fifth most expensive city in the world for hotel accommodation, a finding that will further raise concern that this nation is slowly pricing itself out of the global tourism market.

A survey of 150 cities by GoEuro, a Berlin-based travel search website, ranked Nassau behind just New York, St Moritz (Switzerland), Macau in China and Miami when it came to the average price of hotel accommodations.

The average nightly room rate in Nassau was pegged by GoEuro, which surveyed some 60,000 properties across the 150 cities, at $150. New York led the way at $246, with Miami coming in at $167.

The findings will add to the perception of the Bahamas as a high-cost destination, especially when factors such as air fare and other charges are included in the pricing equation.

Nassau ranked in the ‘top 20’ most expensive cities fin all categories of hotel accommodation. It was eighth most expensive in the five-star hotel category, with an average rate of $541, and came in fifth in the one-four star category with $172 as the average nightly rate.

Nassau also had the 14th most expensive nightly hostel rate at $37, and came in 17th for the cost of short-term apartment rentals with a rate of $171.

The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) has repeatedly expressed concern that this nation’s high operating costs, which force hotels to largely target the high-end, premium price segment, are squeezing market share. And that was before the imminent arrival of Value-Added Tax (VAT).

Stuart Bowe, the BHTA president, speaking at last week’s Energy Security Forum, organised by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), said: “We’ve very expensive. Right now, the average vacation in the Bahamas, we’re ranked second in the region.”

An August 11, 2014, presentation sought to reinforce this message, drawing on research from last year that showed the Bahamas currently draws on just 35 per cent of its potential tourist market.

Based on how much a couple was wiling to spend for airfare, hotel and ground transportation, the BHTA-commissioned report showed that a collective $500 increase in these costs could drop the Bahamas’ US market draw to just 19 per cent.

High labour and utility costs make its extremely hard for resort developers/owners to generate the needed returns on their investment, depriving them of the profit margins/cash flow essential to financing the constant product upgrades demanded by the market.

With new investment deterred, and hotel owners not executing on expansion plans, the creation of additional Bahamian jobs becomes impossible.

The higher prices that have to be charged to tourists thus make the Bahamas uncompetitive against rival destinations, further squeezing resort top-lines and profits.