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Bahamas Build-Up
By Melanie Reffes
In only a few days, Caribbean Travel Marketplace begins, once again held at Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas. The conference opens on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 and continues through the closing party on Jan. 22, 2013. It’s an intensive couple of days of promoting the Caribbean that will also serve as a great showcase for The Bahamas.
The islands of the Bahamas are the hip and happening vacay destination for couples, families and everyone else looking for a tropical getaway, not too far from home. New resorts on the horizon and brushed-up attractions are building up The Bahamas appeal.
"With daily scheduled flights, a variety of charter flights and a healthy cruising industry, cruise passengers and stopover visitors will continue to find The Bahamas an easily accessible getaway, just next door," said Obie Wilchcombe, minister of tourism. "Last year we welcomed five million visitors and anticipate that we have another strong year for tourism ahead of us."
From new resorts on Cable Beach, to swimming with the pigs in Exuma, the island chain is all gussied up for high season.
"Our relationship with travel agents is an invaluable asset in driving tourism. We have a longstanding relationship with agents, and are in constant communication to ensure that they are aware of new developments like the Baha Mar resort development and our new Lynden Pindling International Airport," added Wilchcombe.
Not only the capital of the island chain, Nassau is also action-central for shopping, fine dining, accommodations from luxury to chic casual, and a building bonanza. Slated to open in 2014, the $3.5 billion Baha Mar Resort and entertainment complex will include upscale hotel brands like Rosewood Resorts, Mondrian, Hyatt and the Baha Mar Hotel with a casino that will be the largest in the Caribbean. When complete, the gigantic complex will also house two spas, a water park, nightclub and 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course. At the Lynden Pindling International Airport, a revamped international arrivals terminal and international departures pier is expected to open this month.
Revered for its wine cellar, elegant decor, cigar factory and artsy hand-painted pool, Graycliff is developing the surrounding buildings into a Heritage Village with an artisan’s gallery, coffee-roasting facility, chocolate factory and a new 75-room hotel.
One & Only was once the private hideaway of A&P heir Huntington Hartford and has hosted a mix of hot shots over nearly five decades. The Courtyard Terrace is serving dishes from the original 1962 menu, while bartenders are shaking things up with old-school cocktails like Mint Juleps and Brandy Alexanders.
Plans to revive Walker’s Cay Resort in The Abaco Islands have been approved by The Bahamas Investment Authority. Shuttered in 2004, renovations at the resort now include the development of two hotels, spa, twenty-eight condominiums and an airport runway for twin-engine planes. Eleuthera Urgo
Hotels and Bahamas Ferries started a $15 million expansion project for the Cocodimama Hotel in Governor’s Harbour. Plans include thirty new rooms and four condos.
Colorado-based Rock Resorts will develop a 100-room branded boutique hotel at the Bimini Bay Resort slated to open in 2014. A spa, additional restaurants and beach club are expected to open later this year.
One of the Bahamas’ best kept secrets, Stocking Island, is popular with celebs. Although tourists will not likely run into them, they will see untouched reefs coveted by divers worldwide. A unique tour offered by Island Routes Caribbean Adventure Tours, "Stocking Island Snorkel and Starfish" includes a trek to Salt Beacon for breathtaking views of the neighboring islands. Island Routes is also offering the "007 Thunderball Luxury" tour, which offers swimmers the distinctive experience of swimming with the famous pigs that live in Big Major Cay in the Exumas. Aboard a speedboat, the tour also makes stops at the Thunderball Grotto where the James Bond movies Never Say Never Again and Thunderball were filmed.
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