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FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2024
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Marinas slash rates 30% as boating visitors drop By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN marinas were yesterday said to have slashed fee rates by up to 30 percent to maintain boat occupancy levels amid fears of a further squeeze from rising electricity costs. Peter Maury, a former Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, told Tribune Business that industry operators have reported “the numbers are definitely off from 2023” at one of the sector’s busiest periods with the US Independence holiday weekend. The Bay Street Marina chief, confirming the business has dropped its rates, said many competitors had adopted a similar approach which he branded as “crazy for this time of year” given the traditionally strong demand from boaters cruising to The Bahamas for the Independence holiday weekend.
• Cuts offset rising costs, save occupancy • Squeeze fears on ‘crazy’ electricity rises • ABM chief confirms ‘decrease in tourists’ Arguing that the business fall-off has left multiple industries earning less, including the Government with its taxes, Mr Maury told this newspaper that Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) revised rate structure - which took effect on July 1 - has made it “harder” to persuade high-end boats and yachts to remain in this nation rather than go back to Florida. Pointing out that marinas supply and sell “a lot of electricity” to visiting boats, he
explained that BPL’s Equity Rate Adjustment - which has increased base tariff rates for its largest general services customers - will result in the extra cost being passed on to these vessels and make The Bahamas further price uncompetitive. This, Mr Maury argued, will not only impact Bahamian marinas but the numerous other local industries that benefit from spending by boat guests and crew, including
grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants and BPL. “We were on a call just recently and quite a few people were saying the numbers are definitely off from last year,” he told Tribune Business. “They [the Ministry of Tourism] like to talk about the numbers of people, but they should be talking about the amount of dollars spent. “I’m not going to call any names but I went around to a couple of marinas and everybody has reduced their rates, which is crazy for this time of year. It’s a sign of the times. Over-tax everybody and they choose another destination. We’re down in revenue. We’ve maintained occupancy, but we had to drop our rates like quite a bit, 30 percent. “At least it’s kept boats in the marina. People are dropping their rates to try and accommodate. There’s been a lot of openings across the Out Islands when you couldn’t
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UK legal heavyweights to decide $357m GBPA fight By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
LORD NEUBERGER
TWO UK legal heavyweights have been appointed to determine Freeport’s fate in the Government’s $357m dispute with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA). Tribune Business can reveal that the Davis administration has selected Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, former president of the UK Supreme Court, as
its representative on the threestrong panel of arbitrators who will hear the dispute and ultimately determine whether the GBPA owes the Government for public spending in Freeport over and above tax revenues generated by the city between 2018 and 2022. And the GBPA has chosen Dame Elizabeth Gloster, the first female judge to sit in the UK’s commercial
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DAME ELIZABETH GLOSTER
Gov’t avoids bond markets for third consecutive year By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government is aiming to avoid the international bond markets for a third successive fiscal year as it bids to raise $360m in foreign currency bank loans to meet its $1.803bn gross financing needs. The Davis administration’s 2024-2025 annual borrowing plan, which sets out how it plans to meet the Government’s debt financing needs, confirms that it will seek to meet these via Bahamian investors in the domestic market rather than through foreign currency borrowing. The plan, which was released quietly on
Wednesday, confirms that the Government needs to refinance or roll over some $1.734bn in existing debt over the 12 months to endJune 2025 as well as cover the 2024-2025 fiscal year’s forecast deficit of $69.8m. Combining the two figures produces the total $1.803bn financing requirement, which is equal to 11.8 percent of Bahamian economic output or GDP. Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, could not be reached for comment despite numerous attempts. However, the plan itself said: “The annual borrowing plan proposes financing approximately $1.175bn
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Stopover tourist spend rises 25% By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net STOPOVER visitor spending throughout The Bahamas has increased by more than $500 or 25.4 percent per person compared to pre-COVID levels, tourism’s top official asserted yesterday. Latia Duncombe, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-general, told the media briefing by the Prime Minister’s Office that average per capita spending by stopover visitors has risen from $2,070 in 2019 to 2,596 last year having steadily risen
since the world emerged from the pandemic. She added that average daily spending by stopovers, or air arrivals, who represent The Bahamas’ highest-yielding visitors had grown from $323.37 in 2019 to $425.50 in 2023 - a rise of some 31.6 percent, although it is unclear how much of this may be due to inflation. Mrs Duncombe said average per capita cruise passenger spending had shown similar trends via a 41 percent increase from $77.6 in 2019 to $109.4 last year. “Stopover, cruise and day visitors spent an estimated $5.39bn in The
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Construction ‘strong and healthy’ despite $128m fall in 2023 starts • BCA chief: ‘Too early to draw’ slowdown conclusion • Says cement block demand ‘outpacing production’ • Near-$1bn pipeline despite $73m permit value fall By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CONSTRUCTION remains “strong and healthy” despite 2023’s $128m decline in the value of new building starts, a prominent contractor argued yesterday, with cement block demand “outpacing” production. LEONARD SANDS Leonard Sands, the Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president, told Tribune Business it was “too early to draw a conclusion” from yesterday’s release of Bahamas-wide data which revealed declines in both the number and value of construction permits and starts for 2023. The only category showing some year-over-year improvement was construction completions. The data, unveiled by the Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI), revealed that the combined value of total construction starts in 2023 - for both residential, commercial/industrial and public sector projects - slumped by $128.055m or 38 percent compared to 2022, falling to $212.105m as opposed to $340.16m in the prior year. The total number of new building starts was also down by 9 percent at 491 versus 542, a fall of 51. In particular, the number of new residential building projects dropped from 488 to 433 in 2023, representing an 11 percent decline compared to the prior year, while the value of such projects dropped by 46 percent or $136.373m to $158.256m. While the number of commercial building starts was exactly the same, the value of these projects dropped by $16.362m or 38 percent year-over-year from $42.586m in 2022 to $26.224m last year. However, the number of
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