Opinions on the state of tourism on Harbour Island appear to be mixed, as tourism officials insist the destination is "holding its own" despite concerns from local hoteliers.
Betty Bethel, general manager of North Eleuthera at the Ministry of Tourism, revealed to Guardian Business that Harbour Island has done a good job of marketing itself and continues to be resilient.
"I won't say it's recession proof, but even in the slow economy, it continued to hold its own. Many of the operators expected to not have as good of a season as they did. They have reported to me that their numbers have been very good and in some instances exceeded last year," she explained. "So it's a resilient area of our country's tourism product and one that we always have to pay a lot of attention to, as a good amount of revenue is generated.
"We have small boutique properties where average room rates start at $200 per night. That's what you consider to be a high-end budget property."
The vote of confidence stands in contrast to disappointment from the Romora Bay Resort and Marina. Back in May, Anne Ward, international client manager at the resort, said the key location is running at about 50 percent compared to pre-recession levels.
High fuel prices for boaters and expensive airline tickets have served as a deterrent to would-be tourists.
"It never used to be like that. You used to have an amount of layering. You used to have an amount of business you could count on year over year. There are peaks and valleys, but the valleys are very low, and the peaks don't last long."
Nevertheless, Bethel from the Ministry of Tourism noted that over the years, the repeat visitor factor has been high on Harbour Island. This has translated into consistent year-round numbers for properties on those islands.
"They don't come back as singles and it has proven to be a great destination for families," she said.
Overall, Charity Armbrister, the Ministry of Tourism's director of Central and Southern Bahamas, believes that Eleuthera is performing satisfactorily.
"It is certainly not doing as well as we would like, but Eleuthera is holding its own. I think that is pretty much across the board for most of the southern islands," Armbrister added.
Meanwhile, Bethel noted that the resorts on these islands use the slow season to ensure they are able to maintain their rates and service delivery.
Last week, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism David Johnson shared with Guardian Business that smaller hotels located in the southeastern part of the country have distribution issues. In an effort to generate more business into these properties, the Ministry of Tourism, in conjunction with the Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board, is looking to start a fund that will enable smaller hotels to have a more effective distribution system.

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