The operating profits achieved by Nassau hotels are 59 per cent and 74 per cent lower than their counterparts in the Caribbean and the US, a report on the tourism industry's competitiveness revealed, with high labour and utility costs, pilferage, and low productivity key factors in making The Bahamas a high cost destination that is becoming increasingly uncompetitive.
The report, compiled by Nassau Institute Economist Ralph Massey for the Tourism Taskforce on Trade Liberalisation, found that although the average room rate of $131 per night for the Nassau hotel was comparable with the $129 and $115 rates for its caribbean and US competitors, "the shocker is the bottom line".
The Tourism taskforce report, which was presented to the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce in July, is part of a wider drive to produce a framework for a National Economic Development Plan that will establish a framework for how this nation will cope with the effects of trade liberalisation regardless of whether it joins agreements such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
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