NASSAU, Bahamas – The President of the Bahamas Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA), Robert ‘Sandy’ Sands, has welcomed plans by the Royal Caribbean to homeport in Nassau this summer, saying it will boost airlift, help fill hotel rooms, and provide opportunities for professional services, jobs, vendors as well as an uptick to a comeback economy.
Robert Sands“We welcome homeporting, this is very good news for The Bahamas,” Sands said on a radio and television program that was also attended by Russell Benford, vice president, Government Relations, Americas for Royal Caribbean Group.
Representatives from the hotel and cruise sectors have already met to discuss the initiative and its potential impact on the tourism and cruise ship industry.
“We have not always seen eye-to-eye,” said Sands, a veteran of the hotel industry, who is also senior vice president of Baha Mar.
He told listeners and viewers that homeporting changes the historic dynamic, insisting “homeporting will be the beginning of a new chapter in our history”.
Sands said traditionally hotels in The Bahamas average 70 per cent occupancy, leaving 30 per cent empty, earning no revenue though operating costs continue.
He said additional airlift negotiated to deliver passengers to Nassau to embark on their cruise will help fill those vacant rooms and that guests may want to stay in Nassau or go to the Family Islands after their cruise. Sands said the more time the ship spends in The Bahamas, the greater the demand for local services.
Royal Caribbean will begin homeporting in The Bahamas with Adventure of the Seas, a vessel with a normal capacity of 3,800 but will initially sail with about 50 per cent of that number of guests to maintain physical distancing protocols in keeping with the efforts to curb the spread og the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The first cruise is scheduled to board in Nassau on June 12. Throughout the summer, it will sail on seven-day trips that include a day in Grand Bahama.
“We can see the synergy between the cruise and hotel industry as a result of the agreement for homeporting and for the first time, we will work together for the benefit of the destination,” Sands said.
