Why Nassau Paradise Island Tourism Is Booming — And What’s Next for the Destination

Tourism in Nassau Paradise Island is, in a word, booming. Whether it’s world-class large resorts like Atlantis Paradise Island and Baha Mar, boutique hotels such as Graycliff or family-friendly options like the Margaritaville Beach Resort and Comfort Suites Paradise Island (along with the reimagined British Colonial downtown), it’s a complete, multi-faceted destination that’s cemented its place as a tourism powerhouse in the wider region. 

This year has been a banner one for Nassau Paradise Island, with travelers arriving in droves and the numbers well ahead of what was already a strong 2023. 

But we wanted to learn more. That meant catching up with Joy Jibrilu, CEO of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, who revealed what’s new in Nassau Paradise Island, talked about the destination’s deep cultural offering and, in a wide-ranging interview, told Caribbean Journal what’s next. 

Here’s what Jibrilu had to say. 

It seems like things are just getting better in Nassau Paradise Island right now. 

It seems that way to me, it just seems like it keeps getting better and better. We are having a great year. We talk about numbers a lot in The Bahamas generally, and there is a difference between stopover visitors and cruise passengers. So with the opening of the new cruise port (which debuted last year), that has obviously caused exponential growth. But notwithstanding the hotel sector on Nassau and Paradise Island, they’re seeing such great occupancies and average daily rates that they’re having a phenomenal year. And so their fingers crossed that this continues and everyone, how do I say, we’re cautiously optimistic that it’s another good year for us.

What has been driving Nassau Paradise Island’s success? 

I think we came out of the gate early, we were ready post-pandemic, and our partners, our hotel partners, have continued to evolve and to make the experiences of their properties new and exciting. Particularly with Nassau and Paradise Island, if we just look at Baha Mar, I mean they have expanded completely into the art space. And I don’t know any other resort anywhere that can boast of dedicated art space like The Echo Art Gallery, at 11,000 square feet. The Current is about 8,000 square feet and all the experiences centered around art, the infusion of Bahamian art, local art throughout their property. And that is being so well received by visitors who want to travel for vacation — but want something else as well.

We recently had our International Travel Partners conference a few weeks ago, and our guests from Europe and the UK, this is what caught them the most. They just said, we had no appreciation or understanding for how much art there was on Nassau Paradise Island. And this was just such a wonderful experience for them.

And it’s been across the destination. 

The British Colonial for example, they’ve done an extraordinary job. People go there and they’re so amazed that this historical hotel has been reopened, at the respect that’s being paid to its history whilst updating it and bringing it into the 21st century. And people absolutely are enjoying that experience. So we continue to evolve. I think we continue to grow all the things to do and see. So in addition to the hotel offering, it’s the value added, it’s the upgrades to the Queen’s Staircase (more here on the project) placing that of the heart of places that people need to go and visit when they’re here. And we will continue to do more of this to make Nassau Paradise Island is the place where people say, “oh, I was there five years ago. What’s new to see? And then come back and are absolutely amazed.”

You mentioned the Queen’s Staircase. It’s part of what we’ve seen as a dramatic renaissance in downtown Nassau in particular: it’s a place with history, with culture, with walkability. Can you talk about that?

We do know that the opening of the Nassau Cruise port has been a catalyst, and it was intended, it was hoped that that would indeed chart a course for the renaissance and the reemergence of downtown.  I think what is good about our cruise port is the fact that all the offerings available in that space, in including the entertainment that takes place there every weekend is all local to The Bahamas and Nassau and Paradise Island. So the retail options are all local, and I don’t anywhere else in the world where that holds and certainly not in the Caribbean. And add to that, the local food that’s available there, and as I mentioned, the entertainment on the weekend. And so I think with people seeing that you are absolutely right when you talk about the walkability then, so you walk through there, it’s an easy walk then to British colonial to Margaritaville. 

And Margaritaville has lots to offer people, as does British colonial. And then it’s the natural walk to Junkanoo Beach or Arawak Key or the Fish Fry. And so this is what was always intended. I think we’re just seeing the beginning of the plans, the proposed plans for the redevelopment. I know that there’s more even in the pipeline, and I look forward to being able to announce those projects to you, but we truly will see for the rebirth of that whole area. And when you talk about the walkability from just the cruise Port to Margaritaville to the British Colonial, it’s a 10 minute walk on one side to the Hillside House Art Gallery going up to Government House and all that Graycliff has done with the revitalization of where their property is. But then just on the other side of the cruise port, it’s just a few minutes walk to our National Museum of The Bahamas, and that’s only three minutes away from the Queen’s Staircase. That’s just been a phenomenal success in the sense that it’s this serene oasis in the midst of the heart of downtown, and it’s so walkable to get to.

One of the other things that seems to have been driving growth of Nassau Paradise Island has been the expansion of airlift, whether it’s new markets like Los Angeles or the expansion of existing markets. Can you talk about that and perhaps some other markets you’re looking at? 

This has truly been an exciting time for the destination as it relates to growth and airlift growth. Obviously opening up the West Coast has been a game changer for us, and while we were looking forward to maybe one or two flights a week, we’re just thrilled when both Alaska Airlines and JetBlue came into the marketplace. Now, it must be said, the JetBlue, they’re repositioning their aircraft. So from September of this year, they’re going to move their LA flight for the moment, and we’ll look for next year. But Alaska will continue to fly. And I think it just allows us the opportunity to continue to grow that market and to just reach out to the West Coast in particular, to talk about how accessible The Bahamas is for them. And Nassau and Paradise Island in particular, just that five hour flight, which has taken so many people on the West Coast by surprise, certainly the East coast, we’ve done phenomenally well.

What about markets beyond the US?

We are just so happy that it’s now two to three years in, but we’ve expanded airlift from the United Kingdom so that we have daily flights. In the past, we had three flights a week. So that allows for great growth and great opportunity, not just from the United Kingdom, but from continental USA. And of course, we must recognize Latin and South America in 2023. We had exponential growth from Latin America. In fact, they grew more post pandemic than any other region. Brazil grew exponentially. And so we’re watching that closely. We’re in discussions with airlines. We see great opportunities for Latin America.

What would you say are your biggest priorities right now?

We do see the need for inventory growth. That will facilitate growth for stopover visitors in the industry across the board. So that’s on the wishlist, but just for sustained airlift, airlift from our key markets, even our targeted markets that we’re growing. South America is the opportunity. So we’re aggressively pursuing that at this time, Europe as well, to continue to focus on that. Because if you look at the pattern of travelers, for example, US school holidays versus the United Kingdom. So if you can extend the summer period by capitalizing on the different markets, that would be a win-win, our hotel partners been phenomenal partners and that they continue to bring new and exciting experiences to their property. The Barbie phenomenon is a huge one. And what does Atlantis do?

They have a Barbie takeover and Barbie cabanas. I mean, what an incredible activation and partnership with Mattel to have Barbie come to Atlantas. And so these are the things that will drive people. So we want to continue to innovate and be creative. And so our wishlist, our hope is that our partners continue to do activations like this. We at the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion board working also in tandem with our partners to bring on some events that will make Nassau and Paradise Island a draw. And so these are exciting times for us.

Next year Nassau will be hosting the Routes Americas aviation conference. What does that mean for the destination? 

I’m just so pleased to say that when Roots America’s 2025 went on sale for Booth Space, we were the fastest selling destination in their history. So within a matter of a couple of days, I think they’d sold 99% of the floor space and were looking to add, and they said they’ve never had that response. So people are excited. Our airline partners and destination partners are excited to come to The Bahamas.

What else has been a highlight this year?

One of the great things that we’ve been able to do through connected television, we actually had an ad running during the Paris Olympics, Nassau Paradise Island television ad on NBC. So we know that that put a lot of eyes. The is hope that somebody feels inspired to say, “oh my goodness, the colors of that water, it is so beautiful. It’s a place that I’d like to explore.” We’ve seen tremendous growth. In fact, I have to say that I can share the stats: from a social media standpoint, Nassau and Paradise Island outperformed everyone else in the region in May and June. Incredible, unheard of visits to our website. And that’s across social media, TikTok, Instagram, all the media that is accounted for.

What would you say is your outlook for the rest of this year and beyond?

“We are optimistic that 2024 will also be a really good year for tourism for Nassau and Paradise Island specifically. And we are forward looking bookings for fall into winter are on the right track. We are trending upwards. And so we really genuinely are praying that we can ride out the summer months and go into winter, have a strong winter, and then 2025 continue to build on that momentum. We are continuing to evolve so that Nassau and Paradise Island becomes a place that people say, “I want to go to experience the experience.” So that it will drive the visitors, not just for our resorts, but for the destination as well.