As reported in The Bahama Journal, the Prime Minister discussed trends in the current tourism trends for the region. The region has seen worrisome trends for the tourism industry here.
This was discussed at the Caribbean Hotel Association or CHA's annual meeting called the Caribbean Marketplace. At this event, tourism and other topics are discussed to convey the sales message for the region. According to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, the Caribbean economies are facing a downturn that is worrisome. He said it is mostly driven by overnight visitors, but that a plan is needed to help the area to sustain through the future. He said, "can best craft strategies and programmes to sustain (themselves) through the present difficult period if such strategies are grounded on accurate measurement of the true impact of tourism on our economies."
In order to get these measurements to determine the extent that the tourism sector plays on the economies here, The Bahamas have established a working relationship with the Tourism Satellite Account, or TSA which is a measurement tool.
According to his information, the tourism industry is turning away from the traditional resort and more to the occupant ownership section. In addition, traditional European Plan hotels are now moving more towards a mixed use resort. Timeshare and vacation ownership plans, condo hotel residences and fractional ownership is being seen heavily here.
The Bahamas have long been an international investor hot spot. With this change in the way that tourism is used here, investors must adjust in order to stay competitive.
Currently, the most profitable of Caribbean countries is the Dominican Republic, in terms of tourism, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
