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Tuesday, December 30, 2025
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Abaco marina sees 25 percent decline in holiday numbers By FAY SIMMONS AND ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporters jsimmons@tribunemedia.net MOLLY McIntosh, the Bluff House Beach Resort and Marina's top management executive said the marina recorded a noticeable decline in business following recent boating and yachting fee increases, with activity down between 20 percent and 25 percent in December. Speaking to Tribune Business, Ms McIntosh
said the slowdown was especially evident during what is typically one of the busiest periods of the year on Green Turtle Cay, and warned it could disturb visitor momentum at a critical time for The Bahamas’ marine tourism sector. “It took our business down a bit, particularly at the marina. I don’t have exact figures, but I’d estimate we’re about 20 percent to 25 percent down at Bluff House,” said Mrs McIntosh “Normally, Green Turtle Cay is completely
• Resort warns momentum loss threatens marine tourism • Operators seek clarity ahead of boat shows • Industry urges swift action to restore confidence full — no houses available, no golf carts, no boat rentals. This year, during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, there were golf carts available,
empty houses, and even some empty rooms. That’s disconcerting, because we don’t want to lose that momentum.”
$5.33 Ms McIntosh highlighted that repeat visitation is critical to sustaining tourism-related businesses, noting that once visitors change their travel habits, it can be difficult to reverse the trend. “Momentum is everything,” she said “Once visitors start saying, ‘Maybe we won’t go this year,’ it starts to hurt your business. Then the next year, they choose somewhere else, and that momentum is very hard to get back. Loyalty is extremely important, especially here in The Bahamas. We want people to love the Bahamas, to come here, and to spend their money here — and to be happy doing it.” Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper recently said the government is reviewing the boating and yachting fees and promised
$5.46 to make adjustments where necessary. Mr Cooper, who is also Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, stated that the Davis administration will assess the “impacts” and “implementation” of the new and increased fees, plus regulatory adjustments, that were introduced with other Budget reforms on July 1, 2025. Ms McIntosh welcomed the Government’s decision to review the fees, noting that it is a necessary first step but stressed that the industry now needs clarity and timely action. She said a concrete outcome — rather than prolonged uncertainty — would be critical to restoring confidence among boaters and marina operators, especially as they prepare for
SLOWDOWN - See Page B2
Local bakery navigates competition, sees growth By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
CENTRAL BANK OF THE BAHAMAS
Adopting fast payment services will place Bahamas ahead of regional peers • System to cut payment times to minutes • Bahamas could lead region in payment efficiency • Central Bank plans FPS pilot for 2026 By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net A LOCAL payments provider said adopting Fast Payment Services now will place the Bahamas ahead of its regional peers, enabling faster transactions and boosting economic activity across the islands. Sean Smith, SunCash's business development manager said the system – which the Central Bank plans to pilot December 2026- will allow payments to be completed in less than a minute, a major improvement over
the current 24-hour processing time. Mr Smith said the company is fully prepared to support the rollout of the Fast Payment System across the Bahamas, highlighting the importance of financial inclusion for all local communities. “Absolutely, we’re ready to go. From our experience serving every island in the Bahamas, we’ve seen firsthand the difference financial inclusion makes — being able to process payments in 24 hours instead of two or three days
ROLLOUT - See Page B2
A BAKERY has seen a slight uptick in holiday sales compared to last year, overcoming the stiff competition of more at home bakeries that have popped up in the past few years. Michael Turner, proprietor of Jumper Brothers Bakery, said more persons are noticing that although his other locations have closed, his bakery on Molly Street is still open and operational, helping to drive business up.
“It [Christmas sales] was a little better than last year,” he said. “I'm still in my situation where I'm located. A lot of people still thinking that we are closed and not open anymore. So people are beginning to find out that we are open.” Mr Turner said when his bakery switched locations a few years ago, persons assumed he it shut down. He noted that his Shirley Street and Carmichael Road locations also closed, raising more confusion for customers. This, Mr Turner added, impacted his bottom line.
Union records confirm approval for Sean Paul BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net CONTRARY to a music union’s claims, Tribune Business has seen documentation that proves that musician Sean Paul as well as ten others have received support of application to perform at the resort’s New Year’s Eve event. An application stamped by the Bahamas Musician and Entertainers Union (BMEU) dating back to October 23, shows the union president, Franklyn Hanna, signing off on and supporting a list of persons provided by CTF BM Operations Ltd, for Baha Mar’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration.
SEAN PAUL Among those persons is Grammy Award winner Sean Paul, who the United Artists Bahamas Union’s (UABU) president, Linc Scavella said was being brought in without proper protocol having been followed. While Mr Scavella said the resort has not sought
APPROVED - See Page B2
“Say, for example, you used to making $1,000 a day,” he said. “You down to $300, $200, $400 a day, sometimes less, because people don't know where to find you. They say you shut down because the problem was that, our Carmichael Road location, shut down because we had problems down there, and I had to shut it down because people were fighting me. “And then Shirley Street was open, but I had issues with the phone down there after a while, and then couldn't get no calls, and then people stopped
coming and calling because they couldn't get through. So a lot of things contributed to all of this. But we still had the store open, and gradually, persons began to realize where we are.” Jumper Brother’s Bakery has also seen competition from newer at-home bakeries. While Mr Turner said the impact may not be great, he has seen the effects of a growing industry. “It doesn't really affect us that bad, but a lot of persons are trying out things themselves,” he said.
UPTICK - See Page B2