By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The deputy prime minister yesterday reassured Exuma stakeholders that airlines are “ramping up” airlift to the island with seat capacity up 2 percent despite Sandals’ temporary closure.

Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, told the Exuma Business Outlook conference that expectations of a drastic reduction in airline seat capacity as a result of the 259-room Emerald Bay property’s closure for conversion into a Beaches resort have been confounded.

“I am pleased to announce that when we look at the number of seats coming to Exuma for the upcoming season we are overall 2 percent ahead of where we were last year in terms of capacity,” said Mr Cooper.

“Notwithstanding the closure of Sandals, all of the major airlines recognised that there is still great potential for visitors to come to Exuma, and therefore they’ve not only maintained their capacity, they’ve increased their capacity in some cases.

“In fact, Delta Airlines is up 10 percent in capacity with its daily flight from Atlanta. American Airlines continues its twice daily flight from Miami and is still doing once a week from Charlotte, but will be doing six times a week during the month of January.

“Air Canada continues its once a week from Toronto. Silver Airlines continues its once per week from Fort Lauderdale, and they have indicated to us that they are willing and prepared to expand capacity if we need it. Bahamasair is continuing its twice a week service from Fort Lauderdale.”

Mr Cooper said Exuma currently has about 3,000 available rooms despite Sandals’ closure, and the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation is engaged with hotels and short-term rental owners to ensure they remain competitive and can meet the demand for accommodation.

“Notwithstanding the loss of the 250 rooms at Sandals, I am pleased to tell you that our research has shown that we have roughly 3,000 rooms available in Exuma. Not to diminish in anyway the contributions of Sandals, it is refreshing to note that we have long been a vacation rental market focused heavily on affluent family travel,” said Mr Cooper.

“The Ministry of Tourism is also working closely with key hotels on the island to ensure that their offerings remain attractive and competitive. Our focus remains on maintaining Exuma’s position as a premier destination while ensuring that we continue to create opportunities for our people.”

Mr Cooper said Sandals’ rebranding will create over 850 new jobs and construction will “begin in earnest soon”. “The transformation of Sandals Emerald Bay into Beaches Exuma will create over 850 new jobs once the resort reopens,” he added.

“The construction phase alone is expected to generate 500 jobs, providing a significant boost to the local economy, and we anticipate that construction will begin in earnest soon. With Sandals being couples only, but Beaches being family, we will now see a family of four or more rather than just two.

“This means more traffic for airlines, restaurants and more business for tour operators. We are also focusing on upskilling our workforce to ensure that Exumians are prepared to take full advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead.”

Mr Cooper said arrivals to Exuma for 2024 are in line with last year’s record breaking numbers, which were 19.3 percent ahead of pre-COVID 2019 despite Sandals’ temporary closure. And, while Sandals carries out $100m of renovations, he added that the Ministry of Tourism has “revved up” its marketing activities to drive more traffic to the island.

“The notable closure on a temporary basis of Sandals Emerald Bay has caused some concern in the tourism sector, as they have been our key player in the tourism industry for quite some time,” said Mr Cooper.

“This renovation project, while temporarily reducing our hotel inventory by 250 rooms, is set to transform the landscape of tourism in Exuma, and we expect it to bring about significant benefits in the near future. During this period, we have implemented strategic initiatives to mitigate the impact on our tourism industry.

“To this end, we have been working diligently with hotels, major airlines, tour operators, booking engines and digital and traditional media to drive traffic to Exuma. We have deployed strategies to convert leads to actually be bookings for Exuma,” he continued

“We have partnered with Expedia and other travel platforms to further promote Exuma vacation packages, offering special incentives to encourage bookings. In effect, we have revved up the engine and we have allocated even more of our marketing budget to the island of Exuma. We’ve engaged directly with all of our stakeholders, and we anticipate over the course of time that we will continue to hold our own.”