2018/19 Budget Communication 2018_2019 BUDGET COMMUNICATION | Page 66

by 4 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. The persistent
and long-standing relatively flat performance of the air and
stay-over segment of the tourism market is particularly
troubling as that is the portion that makes the most
significant contribution to the growth of value-added in the
tourism industry. The lackluster performance of this market
last year was reflected, for instance, in the performance of
the large hotel properties in New Providence and Paradise
Island where the average occupancy rate declined by 10 per
cent to 60.7 per cent. However, despite this development,
total room revenue was largely unchanged on the basis of
increased room inventory.
In contrast, there are now indications that the
performance of the tourism sector rebounded somewhat
more buoyantly in the first quarter of 2018 and that this
improvement will be sustained.
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