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TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2025
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Atlantis plans $135m investment in Cove By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ATLANTIS plans to invest around $135m over the next three years in a near-total overhaul of its Cove resort despite a modest fall in revenue per available room (RevPAR), it was revealed yesterday. Analysts at DBRS Morningstar, in evaluating the creditworthiness of mortgage-backed securities that underpin the latest refinancing of the Paradise Island mega resort’s debt, disclosed that the hotel and its owner, Brookfield Asset Management, invested more than half-a-billion dollars in refreshing multiple aspects of its product and guest experience.
t 1* NFHB SFTPSU JO UISFF ZFBS PWFSIBVM t $PNFT BT 3FW1BS TMJQT GSPN A QFBL t ,FZ JOEJDBUPS PGG GPS ZFBS UP .BZ The anticipated Cove improvements thus appear to be one of the biggest capital expenditures that Atlantis will have undertaken
over the past ten to 15 years. The outlay comes after “strong performance since COVID-19” with RevPAR, despite a slight yearover-year decline of 2.2 percent for the 12 months to end-May 2025, still some $49 ahead of prepandemic levels for the entire resort. RevPAR is a key indicator of hotel pricing power and visitor demand, as its measures yields from available room inventory. Morningstar attributed the decline from a peak of $274 in 2023, down to the present $260, on “the phasing out of pent-up transient demand” from leisure visitors that built up due to the COVID-related travel restrictions
REFINANCE - See Page B5
ATLANTIS RESORT
‘Pull out all stops’ on local vacation rental ownership By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government was yesterday urged to “pull out all the stops” for Bahamian ownership and participation in vacation rentals amid expectations its tax compliance push may drive some to exit the market. Thomas Sands, the Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce’s president, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas needs to balance adherence to the applicable tax laws with the provision of incentives that “empower” Bahamians to gain an ownership stake in tourism which is
t $IBNCFS CBDLT DPNQMJBODF CVU OFFET CBMBODF t 1SFEJDUT UBY ESJWF ASFE UBQF XJMM DBVTF TPNF FYJUT t 'SVTUSBUJPO BT JODPSSFDU %*3 F NBJM JO CPVODF CBDL the country’s largest industry and economic driver. He argued that this was the only way “to retain as much of the capital being spent in this space in local communities and the domestic economy”, as opposed to it leaking out of The Bahamas as foreign currency, adding that vacation rentals play a valuable role in “filling the void”
THOMAS SANDS
when Family Island resort inventory cannot meet visitor demand. Speaking as the Department of Inland Revenue launched a review of “taxpayers’ compliance with the tax laws”, specifically in a bid to crack down on non-compliance in the vacation rental sector, Mr Sands told this newspaper that - while he supported
the need for all legitimate businesses to pay their fair share - there was a likelihood that perceived or real “red tape” will force some owners to close their doors. “The reality is that if you operate a business you have got to be compliant,” he said. “I think there are a lot of people who want to find the correct approach to compliance as a business, and we encourage
COMPLIANCE - See Page B4
‘Subdued’ tourism Gov’t sells 130 Crown Land hits growth acres for $18m egg venture ahead of better second half By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank’s governor yesterday said “subdued” tourism growth meant the Bahamian economy expanded at a “slightly moderated speed” during the 2025 first half. Unveiling The Bahamas’ economic performance for the 2025 second quarter, John Rolle revealed that despite the “increased headwinds” due to global uncertainty this nation is still on track to hit its full-year growth forecast of around 1.8 percent. He explained that “uncertainty” due to the Trump administration’s tariffs and global trade disputes is expected to slow tourism, while rising global inflation would delay a reduction in international interest rates making The Bahamas’ foreign currency debt more costly to service. “As we observed from earlier in the year, there are still increased headwinds facing the economy, but these do not extinguish the growth forecast. Uncertainties from increased tariffs on global trade are expected to slow global growth below what would have otherwise been its potential, and this
RESERVES - See Page B6
THE Government has approved the purchase of 130 Crown Land acres on Andros to facilitate development of an $18m egg production farm, the Central Bank revealed yesterday. The banking regulator, in a presentation accompanying its 2025 second quarter and first half economic developments report, disclosed: “The Bahamas Blue Hole Farms was approved for the acquisition of 130 acres of Crown Land at Stafford Creek, Andros, for the commercial development of an egg production farm at an estimated value of $18m.” No further details were provided with the Central Bank describing the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) as the source of this information. Efforts to track down Bahamas Blue Hole Farms and/or its principals proved unsuccessful up to press time, although this newspaper located a website for Blue Hole Farms that, while confirming the project’s aims, was little more than a home page. The initiative is potentially tied to the Government’s Golden Yolk initiative and ambitions to drive The Bahamas to self-sufficiency
in egg production. Elsewhere, the Central Bank confirmed that Disney Cruise Line has been approved for $250m worth of infrastructure and other upgrades to its Castaway Cay private island destination. And a $35m “boutique residential and members club with leisure/fitness related amenities on Big Point, Elbow Cay”, has also received the go-ahead from the Government. The developer was named as Pieces of Eight Ltd, although it could not be confirmed whether this is the Bahamian tour operator of the same name. Other investment projects include “approval to construct and operate two lounges located at the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA)” for Global Lounge Network, a developer of high-end lounges for VIP passengers and travellers. A $200m mixed-use resort and commercial complex for western New Providence, known as Brickell Square Commercial & V’Orsay Residential Resort, to be developed in partnership with Eco Green Properties, has also been approved for a Heads of Agreement signing and its Hotels Encouragement Act tax breaks and concessions.
INVESTMENT - See Page B5
RYAN KNOWLES
MARIO CAREY
‘Eyeballs back’: PI reignites after ‘pretty dead’ 10 years By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A “PRETTY dead” Paradise Island property market has been “reignited” by a $550m investment that has “put eyeballs back” on nearby developments such as Ocean Club Estates, realtors asserted yesterday. Ryan Knowles, founder and chief executive of Maison Bahamas, told Tribune Business that the construction start for the Four Seasons Ocean Club
Residences is acting as “a rising tide that is lifting” activity elsewhere on Paradise Island following a ten-year period when international buyers have mostly been drawn to gated communities in western New Providence. Amid the ongoing competition with the likes of Albany, Old Fort Bay and Lyford Cay, he added that Paradise Island’s “storied history” as a destination for high-end clients, coupled
REVITALISE - See Page B4