During the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) recent Caribbean Week in New York City, Joy Jibrilu, CEO of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, shared the latest hotel and flights news coming out Nassau in The Bahamas.
The verdict? Travelers are flocking in big numbers to Nassau Paradise Island as the destination reclaims its position as one of the hottest destinations in the hemisphere.
“The newest thing, just announced [recently] for the first time in our history, we will have direct airlift from Los Angeles to Nassau on JetBlue,” said Jibrilu.
“And what is special about that for us,” she continued, “is it opens up the West Coast for us. We have seen traffic and it’s always up high [from Los Angeles], most visited in terms of states, in terms of people coming to the Bahamas, in terms of visitor arrivals, and we never had direct airlift.”
Until now.
The new service connecting the United States West Coast to the Bahamas will debut on November 4 with a once- weekly Saturday flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Nassau’s Sir Lynden Pindling Airport (NAS).
“So, suddenly the ease with which people can travel to Nassau has has just been a force for continued growth for us,” said Jibrilu.
“So, in terms of airlift, we’ve not lost one single route from an an airline since the pandemic and we have more seat capacity,” she continued. “While we may not have more flights, what the airlines have done is they’ve upgauged the aircraft and of course that is all tied in with supply and demand with pilots and crew. So, rather than send small four planes with more crew and pilot, they’ve upgauged to bigger aircraft.”
And as far as hotels go?
“So, what happened during the pandemic,” said Jibrilu, “construction was allowed to continue. So, since we reopened to travel and tourism again, we’ve opened up Margaritaville [Beach Resort – Nassau], which is a family resort property.”
It’s the first-ever Margaritaville resort in The Bahamas, set at The Pointe, the new luxury destination in the capital.
The $350 million project is a significant infusion of energy to the waterfront in downtown Nassau, a city that has been seeing a renaissance in recent years.
“That resort is doing phenomenally well because it is right by Baha Mar and Atlantis, which are two huge resorts, and in terms of size, price points and whatever else it offers,” said Jibrilu. “So, that’s really been a great balance to the two big brothers on either side.”
Another recently opened property is Goldwynn, a small, high-end, luxury, boutique property about 1/4 mile away from Baha Mar that Jibrilu said, “is stunningly beautifully and has surpassed everyones’ expectations.” It opened in February and has been running at roughly 90 percent occupancy since, Jibrilu said. “So, for a new property to be doing that well, says so much.”
The only Bahamian member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Goldwynn Resort features 81 residential-style accommodations including studios, one- two- and three-bedroom suites, and three expansive Edge suites.
The three-bedroom signature Goldwynn Suite is the best room at the property. It features 1,940 square feet of interior space, three balconies, two terraces and 270 degrees of unobstructed ocean views.
All studios and suites feature full kitchens or kitchenettes, private balconies and views of the Bahamian ocean or golf course.
So, how are sales at Goldwynn going? It was announced in February of last year that The Residences at Golden on Cable Beach in Nassau had already sold roughly 70 percent of its product.
“Apparently they’re really happy,” said Jibrilu, “and are already looking at a second phase of building because of how well they’ve done with the first phase.”
In general, Jibrilu said Nassau is fortunate for its fast rebound while other islands are still lagging behind.
“So, we are being really fortunate about that, but we are being mindful that there are others that are not recovering at the same pace,” said Jibrilu.
