Courtesty of The Nassau Guardian
Tourism officials have pumped an additional $6 million into an ambitious air credit campaign that will run into the first quarter of next year.
In a joint initiative between the Ministry of Tourism and the promotion boards, the discounts come into force next week. David Johnson, the director general at the Ministry of Tourism, said there is no question that The Bahamas performs better when air credits are in place.
Major hotels in the country made a compelling case for offering the wide-ranging incentive, even during traditionally busy periods, to help fill up empty rooms.
“We are focusing on the winter and beyond, and relaunching the instant credit program for bookings. This will take us straight through to the first quarter of next year,” he told Guardian Business. “It is running right to February 18, because those six to eight weeks after Christmas are critical.”
The philosophy is to introduce the program early, knowing that tourists are making decisions on their holidays far in advance. The Ministry of Tourism is trying to capitalize on this trend.
Johnson noted that the new air credit program, however, will be offered at a reduced rate. While he wasn’t sure of the exact specifics, he estimated the reduction should translate into about $50 less per booking.
Under the most recent deal, each room night lasting between three to five nights received a credit of $200. Bookings lasting more than five nights receive $350.
Back in June, the Ministry of Tourism and the promotion boards re-instituted the air credit system shortly after coming under fire by Atlantis.
George Markantonis, the president and managing director of Kerzner International (Bahamas), called the program “critical” to their success. He said the resort was behind on its summer bookings because the program was temporarily suspended.
The Ministry of Tourism brought the program back for a four-week period, ending August 20, and now it appears to have returned for the long haul.
Robert “Sandy” Sands, senior vice president of administration and external relations at Baha Mar, said yesterday that air credits are “a very important stimulus program to sustain a still erratic and slower than expected tourism recovery”.
“Each time we do it, the market shows a lot of energy. Traditionally we offer it only in the down months, but we have found it to be a strong stimulant for business. Hotels that are slightly off their targets have convinced us to be more liberal,” Johnson revealed. “So we injected these windows of opportunity to stimulate business.”
As an example, the director general explained that hotels running in the 70 percent occupancy range find that a air credit system can bump them up by up to 15 percent.
“It costs a bit more, but we need the business,” he said.
The $6 million expenditure represents an investment on the part of all tourism bodies.
Johnson called it “money well spent,” delivering many more times its value in terms of overall tourism spend on New Providence or the Family Islands.
The campaign is coupled with a “Labor Day sale” at the country’s largest property. Atlantis is still offering rooms at $99 per night in selected towers, including free breakfast and other meal incentives.
Jeffrey Todd
Guardian Business Editor
jeffrey@nasguard.com
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