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Bahamas Tourism Faces Booking Slowdown After Travel Alert
13.02.2024 - 07:15 / skift.com / Dawit Habtemariam
The Bahamas saw a January slowdown in short-term rental bookings — and, to a lesser extent, hotel reservations — following news reports about an uptick in murders and a U.S. State Department alert to travelers.
In January, short-term rental bookings fell 7.3% compared to the same month in 2023 after seeing months of growth, according to AirDNA.
Reservations per property and occupancy at short-term rentals were down 10%, according to Key Data.
Hotels, which tend to be concentrated in tourist areas, saw weekly occupancy declines year-over-year between 2% and 14% throughout January, according to CoStar’s STR. But average daily rates rose year-over-year, so higher prices may have played a factor in deterring bookings.
The drops follow a recent travel alert from the U.S. government. On January 24, the U.S. Embassy in Nassau, Bahamas, released an alert that warned U.S. citizens that 18 people had been murdered in Nassau since the start of the year. “Murders have occurred at all hours including in broad daylight on the streets,” it read.
The New York Times, CNN, and CBS News published stories highlighting crime in the Bahamas.
The prime minister’s office released an official statement on January 30 on the Bahamian tourism board’s website, reassuring travelers that the nation is “alert, attentive, and proactive” and that the archipelago “remains a safe and welcoming destination.”
Despite the government’s reassurance, short-term rental bookings fell 6.4% between January 28 and February 3 from the same week last year, according to AirDNA.
In early February, two American tourists were drugged and assaulted at a resort on the Grand Bahama island. Authorities arrested the suspects: two resort staffers. There’s now an ongoing investigation being conducted by the local authorities and the FBI.
The State Department hasn’t changed its guidance level: “The overall Travel Advisory for The Bahamas remains unchanged at Level 2, which advises U.S. citizens to exercise increased caution in The Bahamas due to crime,” a State Department spokesperson told Skift.
Level 2 is behind Level 1, which is the safest category. Under Level 2, the destination is safe for Americans to travel to, but they are advised to be extra cautious once there. Many popular destinations like Morocco, France and the UK have a Level 2 Travel Advisory.
The murders occurred in an area called “Over the Hill” in Nassau. While the violence is concerning, Over the Hill has been long known to have incidents of gang retaliatory violence, said Frank Comito, a consultant and former CEO and director general of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association.
Most tourists spend time in the resorts and hotels at Baha Mar Blvd and Cable Beach instead. These areas
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