By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Atlantis will operate at “close to 90 percent occupancy” over the next few weeks, its top executive revealed yesterday, with all properties apart from the Beach Towers having re-opened post-COVID. 

Audrey Oswell, Atlantis’s president and managing director, told Tribune Business that the Paradise Island mega resort is currently operating at 75-percent plus occupancies. She added: “All of the resort, with the exception of Beach, is now open and we expect to run close to 90 percent occupancy over the next few weeks.” 

Comparing this July to 2019’s record-setting year, Ms Oswell added: “Atlantis is pleased to report that we are approaching 2019 occupancy levels.  The booking window is much shorter and airlift continues to be a challenge, but booking pace has increased steadily over the past few months.  Coral (Towers) is now fully open along with the Cove, Reef, Harborside and Royal (Towers).”

“Widespread vaccination throughout the US has contributed to the increase in tourism. More important is that Bahamians are also starting to get vaccinated. Tourists want to know that the people they come in contact with in The Bahamas are also vaccinated. Full vaccination of the hospitality industry is imperative to full recovery of tourism for The Bahamas.  We all need to do our part.” 

Atlantis has also re-opened its The FISH, Carmine’s and Chop Stix restaurants. Ms Oswell’s remarks echo the position taken by Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, and Michael Maura, the Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive, who told Tribune Business yesterday that tourism is “back with a vengeance”.

Mr D’Aguilar said “we’re bringing tourism back” as the relaxation of international travel restrictions and the continued roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations - especially in key visitor source markets - gave persons increasing confidence to again vacation abroad.

Describing The Bahamas as “a destination of choice” for Americans who have been emboldened to travel, he added: “Tourism is bouncing back, and more and more people are being called back to work, and more and more people are earning tips and gratuities.”

While everything is relative, and The Bahamas has some way to go to match 2019’s record tourism numbers, the strength and speed of the industry’s recovery will determine how rapidly the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic’s ravages.

The Bahamas’ mass market tourism, and especially its mega resorts, have been the slowest segment to recover from COVID-19, as Mr D’Aguilar acknowledged. “Our larger hotel properties are, of course, the slower component of the tourism sector to bounce back,” he said.

“It’s good to see Americans feel comfortable enough to travel. I’m advised that at one hotel the levels of vaccination are in excess of 70 percent of visitors coming into the hotel. All of the food and beverage facilities are getting very buzzy, the nightlife is getting buzzy. I think we’re handling this very well.”

Anticipating that tourist purchases of Bahamian travel visas in June will exceed the 110,000 recorded for last month, Mr D’Aguilar said: “With these kinds of reports coming out of our larger facilities, I’m very optimistic and upbeat, and as they look forward they’re seeing more and more growth.

“People are telling me they’ve never seen a summer so busy, but it may be because last summer was awful. We’ll see what the final statistics look like, but Americans are becoming emboldened to travel and are picking The Bahamas as a destination of choice.”

Mr Maura, meanwhile, added: “We see things really ramping up this Friday, July 2. Between July 2 and July 10, which includes US independence day on July 4 and Bahamian independence, we will have 14 cruise ships come in with well over 13,000 cruise passengers.”

“We’re well on our way now. We’re seeing a return. They’re all coming back. We have Virgin committed to calls at the end of the third quarter going into the fourth quarter, Disney coming back in August and Norwegian Cruise Line coming back in September.

“Everything is coming back with a vengeance. The Bahamas, given our geography, we are the partner of choice, especially given our proximity to south Florida. It’s huge. A number of these ships like the Celebrity Edge and Freedom of the Seas will be making multiple calls and sailings.”