By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government has approved the purchase of 130 Crown Land acres on Andros to facilitate development of an $18m egg production farm, the Central Bank revealed yesterday.

The banking regulator, in a presentation accompanying its 2025 second quarter and first half economic developments report, disclosed: “The Bahamas Blue Hole Farms was approved for the acquisition of 130 acres of Crown Land at Stafford Creek, Andros, for the commercial development of an egg production farm at an estimated value of $18m.”

No further details were provided with the Central Bank describing the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) as the source of this information. Efforts to track down Bahamas Blue Hole Farms and/or its principals proved unsuccessful up to press time, although this newspaper located a website for Blue Hole Farms that, while confirming the project’s aims, was little more than a home page.

The initiative is potentially tied to the Government’s Golden Yolk initiative and ambitions to drive The Bahamas to self-sufficiency in egg production. Elsewhere, the Central Bank confirmed that Disney Cruise Line has been approved for $250m worth of infrastructure and other upgrades to its Castaway Cay private island destination.

And a $35m “boutique residential and members club with leisure/fitness related amenities on Big Point, Elbow Cay”, has also received the go-ahead from the Government. The developer was named as Pieces of Eight Ltd, although it could not be confirmed whether this is the Bahamian tour operator of the same name.

Other investment projects include “approval to construct and operate two lounges located at the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA)” for Global Lounge Network, a developer of high-end lounges for VIP passengers and travellers. 

A $200m mixed-use resort and commercial complex for western New Providence, known as Brickell Square Commercial & V’Orsay Residential Resort, to be developed in partnership with Eco Green Properties, has also been approved for a Heads of Agreement signing and its Hotels Encouragement Act tax breaks and concessions.

The Central Bank, in its June report, disclosed that stopover tourism numbers for the five months to end-May 2025 declined by the narrowest of margins - 0.1 percent. Essentially flat year-over-year, growth in arrivals to Grand Bahama and the Family Islands was more than cancelled out by a 1.5 percent year-over-year fall-off on New Providence.

“Economic indicators suggest that the domestic economy sustained its tempered pace of growth during June, as indicators continued to normalise closer to their expected medium-term potential. Tourism output reflected healthy but moderated activity, as the high value-added stopover segment continued to experience constrained momentum, although the cruise sector registered robust growth,” the Central Bank said.

“Indications are that tourism earnings moderated overall, as activity in the stopover segment was constrained. Nevertheless, the cruise segment continued to register healthy gains and attract foreign investments in the development of onshore private destinations.

“Official data provided by the Ministry of Tourism showed that total visitors rose by 6.1 percent to one million in May vis-à-vis the comparable period in 2024. In particular, the dominant sea segment grew by 7.2 percent to 0.8m, while air arrivals increased by 1 percent to 200,000,” the regulator continued.

“A breakdown by major port of entry indicated that total arrivals to New Providence advanced by 11.6 percent to 500,000 relative to the previous year. Notably, sea passengers expanded by 15.8 percent to 400,000. and air traffic, by 0.4 percent to 100,000.

“In addition, overall visitors to the Family Islands increased by 5.1 percent to 400,000 vis-à-vis the prior year, owing to the 5.6 percent rise in sea arrivals to 400,000, which overshadowed the 0.4 percent decline air traffic to 35,336, as compared to the same period in 2024.

“In contrast, total arrivals to Grand Bahama reduced by 35.8 percent to 30,175 from a year earlier, owing primarily to a 42.7 percent reduction in sea passengers to 24,232, which eclipsed the 25.8 percent growth in air traffic to 5,943.”

As for the first six months of 2025, the Central Bank added: “On a year-to-date basis, total arrivals expanded by 10.7 percent to 5.3m visitors relative to the comparative 2024 period. Underlying this outturn was a 12.9 percent growth in sea traffic to 4.5m, which outweighed a 0.1 percent fall-off in air passengers to 800,000.

“Preliminary data from the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) indicated that total departures - net of domestic passengers - [at Lynden Pindling International Airport] fell by 2.6 percent to 147,872 in June relative to the same period in 2024. This corresponded to a 3.8 percent decrease in US departures to 130,326, offsetting the 6.6 percent strengthening in non-US departures to 17,545.

“For the first half of 2025, total outbound traffic reduced by 2.3 percent to 900,000. Specifically, US departures declined by 2.9 percent to 700,000 relative to the comparative 2024 period. Conversely, non-US departures increased by 1.5 percent to 100,000 from a year earlier.”

When it came to the short-term vacation rental market, the Central Bank added: “Data provided by AirDNA revealed that, in June, total room nights sold rose by 5.8 percent to 79,849 relative to the prior year. However, given increased inventories the occupancy rate for entire place listings declined marginally to 53.4 percent from 54.2 percent; and for hotel comparable listings to 46 percent from 47.9 percent in the previous year.

“Alongside higher sales volumes, the average daily room rate (ADR) firmed for entire place listings by 7.9 percent to $586.44, but decreased for hotel comparable listings by 0.3 percent to $184.55. On a year-to-date basis, total room nights sold increased by 9.8 percent, while the average daily rates rose for entire place and hotel comparable listings by 8.5 percent and 3 percent, respectively.”