By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A 11.1 percent decline in foreign air departures has been described as a seasonal trend by director of aviation Kenneth Romer.

Mr Romer, who is also deputy director general of the Ministry of Tourism and Investments,  noted the departures from Sir Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) during September and October, but said these months are traditionally slower for travel, with numbers typically softening during this period.

“When the numbers are reported, they often speak to a period that we would have traditionally seen the softening of numbers,” Dr Romer explained.

“We know that September, October, [are] traditionally slower months. So we do expect during those periods to see a decline in your arrivals and your departures.”

Dr Romer was optimistic about tourism’s performance during the final quarter, pointing to strong Thanksgiving numbers and an encouraging outlook for December and January.

“We are seeing again an uptick in performance, a very strong Thanksgiving, [and] a very strong December, and we are optimistic again that January is going to hold also.”

The decline follows a record-breaking year in 2023, with over 9.65 million visitor arrivals, and a strong start to 2024, surpassing those numbers by the third quarter.

He noted a return of American Airlines and new flights from Charlotte. He added: “You’ll see new flights coming out of Charlotte. You’ll see Delta again bringing new flights in December. You’ll see in Eleuthera, Governor’s Harbour, a new flight [from] American Airlines, Charlotte direct into Eleuthera.

“Bahamasair again is preparing for new service out of West Palm Beach into Grand Bahama. They’re ramping up, again, seat capacity from our key source markets in Florida—Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando—in December.”