NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Visitor arrivals to The Bahamas grew by nearly 23 percent in the third quarter, with tourist arrivals to New Providence increasing by nearly 16 percent during that period, according to the latest data from the Central Bank.

The preliminary data from the Ministry of Tourism showed that total visitor arrivals grew by 22.8 percent to 2.2 million during the third quarter, exceeding the 1.8 million visitors in the same period in 2022. 

"Underpinning this development, sea traffic expanded by 26.8 percent to 1.8 million arrivals, surpassing the 1.4 million passengers in the comparable period last year. Likewise, the high-value-added air segment advanced by 6.7 percent to 0.37 million passengers, exceeding the 0.35 million visitors in the prior year," the Central Bank noted in its Quarterly Economic Review for September.

It continued: "A breakdown by major ports of entry revealed that tourist arrivals to New Providence grew by 15.7 percent to 0.9 million, from 0.8 million a year earlier, on account of a rise in both sea and air traffic, by 20.6 percent and by 6.5 percent, respectively.

"In the Family Islands, total visitor arrivals expanded by 29.2 percent to 1.1 million, vis-à-vis 0.8 million in 2022, as the sea segment advanced by 30.9 percent and air tourists by 6.8 percent.

"Further, arrivals to Grand Bahama increased by 25.8 percent to 143,609 visitors, from 114,185 passengers in the comparable period last year, bolstered by gains in sea arrivals, by 27.1 percent and air traffic, by 11 percent."

The Central Bank also remarked that "positive trends" were also observed in the short-term vacation rental market, as revealed in the most recent statistics provided by AirDNA. Total room nights booked rose by 18.6 percent to 0.5 million, on account of a rise in entire place listings, by 18.4 percent to 0.4 million and hotel comparable listings, by 20.2 percent to 0.1 million.

Click here to read more on the Eye Witness News website