There may be nothing The Bahamas can do about the expensive nature of flights into the country in the near- to medium-term, Minister of Tourism Dionisio D'Aguilar told Guardian Business yesterday. Meanwhile, this country's competitors, whose flight prices are only $8 less in some cases, are seeing their tourism products boom.
A quick check of flight comparison website Kayak.com showed a flight from New York to Kingston, Jamaica at $531, while a flight from New York to Nassau during the same time period was selling for $523 (prices quoted were different airlines). However, the distance disparity between this country and Jamaica is 520 miles. It is quicker and shorter to get to Nassau than to Kingston.
Last year Jamaica saw its tourism numbers grow almost six percent over the previous year. Air arrivals to New Providence last year grew less than one percent over the previous year, according to tourism statistics.
Statistics have shown that The Bahamas' tourism product has not grown in 20 years and has been "stagnant because the value for money has eroded", according to a tourism expert.
And costs continue to go up as the Nassau Airport Development Company seeks to increase its fees by the end of the year.
D'Aguilar explained that: "If you're flying, we have built into our ticket prices all of the charges associated with entering the United States from The Bahamas."
These kinds of charges, he said, will be difficult to write off if The Bahamas is interested in decreasing the costs to passengers entering and leaving the country.
"I don't want to be flippant to the fact... we are very mindful of the charges involved," he said. "Yes, it is a substantial number."
Though D'Aguilar considers this country's fees "substantial", he said as a Caribbean destination "we are very competitive".
A tourism expert told Guardian Business recently that this country has "eroded its most significant advantage" -- its proximity to the United States -- by being one of the most expensive destinations in the region to get to.
The expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the nature of his job, told this paper that The Bahamas has the largest potential for tourism development in the region, but lamented that the archipelago has damaged its brand with high taxes and fees.
"The U.S. is the biggest economy in the world, which technically allows us to charge a lot more money for our products compared to people elsewhere, because people look at these vacations in terms of what the total cost is, not just simply what the room rate is or the all-inclusive rate," he said.
"Because of our location we should have absolutely the lowest cost to get from the United States to The Bahamas."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian