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MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020
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Atlantis occupancies at 50% as virus bites By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters ATLANTIS yesterday revealed that normallybuoyant occupancy levels for the peak winter period have fallen to 50 percent as “tourism and commerce grinds to a halt” amid the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson for the Paradise Island-based mega resort told Tribune Business: “While the present occupancy rate is hovering around 50 percent, the current occupancy and any forecast is irrelevant given the fact that circumstances
• Graycliff sees 60% booking cancellations • PM: ‘No sector more at risk’ than tourism • Minister: Health, security ‘trumps’ all else
DIONISIO D’AGUILAR
Cruise sector closure ‘extremely devastating’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE cruise industry’s 30-day shutdown will be “extremely devastating” for Bay Street and all who rely on the sector for their livelihood, the Downtown Nassau Partnership’s cochair warned yesterday. Charles Klonaris told Tribune Business that while downtown merchants, tour and excursion providers, straw vendors and hair braiders will “feel the brunt of the shutdown”, it represented merely the beginning of what he described as “a domino effect” that is
unlikely to spare any part of the Bahamian economy and/ or society. While a “dead” city of Nassau would show “the physical impact at the door”, he added that increased unemployment, and reduced personal and business incomes, would have a “severe” impact throughout New Providence as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Arguing that “we’re not in a position to deal with this crisis” due to The Bahamas’ reliance on imports for virtually all it consumes, Mr Klonaris said the lack
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Virus delay hits oil exploration By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AN OIL explorer has delayed the drilling of its first well in Bahamian waters until late May/early June to ensure the coronavirus crisis does not cost it “millions of dollars”. Simon Potter, the Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) chief executive, told Tribune Business that pushing back the April 2020
target date by around a month was “really inconvenient and frustrating” but it had to keep in mind the potential health, financial and operational impacts created by the global pandemic. “Our rocks have been there for hundreds of millions of years, and are not going anywhere, so let’s keep this in perspective,” he said, noting that there
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are changing. Our primary focus at this time is the health and safety of our guests and staff.” Atlantis is far from the only Bahamian resort feeling a sharp COVID-19 related decline in business during a peak winter season when it should be enjoying occupancies consistently in the high 80 percent to low 90 percent range, as fearful travellers opt to cancel
planned vacations and stay at home, both to avoid infection and to conserve funds. Graycliff revealed to this newspaper that it has seen a 60 percent booking cancellation rate as the pandemic continues to spread worldwide. Roberta Garzaroli said the cancellations had been split “evenly at 50/50”
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Hotels dodge ‘even more of a disaster’ over coronavirus By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamian resort industry has “escaped even more of a disaster” by getting through much of the peak winter season before the coronavirus fall-out took full effect, a senior hotelier says. Robert Sands, pictured, Baha Mar’s senior vicepresident of government and external affairs, told Tribune Business that the hotel sector was hoping to “get through March” before the worst effects of the travel cancellations and postponements took effect. While forward bookings “have slowed, and continue
to slow”, Mr Sands said there were also signs that Easter holiday business volumes “may hold but not at the levels anticipated”. He added, though, that it was “a different ball game” beyond Easter with tremendous industry uncertainty over the
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