With its azure water, sparkling beaches, adventures by land and sea, and cultural allure spanning everything from Junkanoo Festivals with folk music and dance to a history of pirates and rum runners, the Bahamas seems a world away. Yet this vast collection of islands is a short plane ride from several major U.S. hubs, making it an easily accessible tropical destination for North American groups. Better still, attendees will find impressive new offerings coming online to further elevate the distinctive experience.
“One of the reasons The Bahamas is getting better and better is because new hotels are coming on strong,” says George Brice, vice president of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board. “In addition to what we have now, including Atlantis on Paradise Island, the new Baha Mar, a $3.5 billion development with multiple hotels, will do wonders for our destination when it opens.”
The mega-resort, which was projected to debut in March, delayed its opening by several months. When it is finally unveiled, Baha Mar, the Bahamian Riviera, will boast 2,200 upscale hotel rooms in four properties: the 1,000-room Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, the 700-room Grand Hyatt, the 300-room SLS LUX and the 200-room Grand Hyatt. Meanwhile, it will feature the Caribbean’s largest casino (at 100,000 square feet), a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, pools, beach experiences, a spa, 40-plus restaurants and bars, and a 2,000-seat entertainment venue. For groups, 200,000 square feet of convention facilities will be available.
“It will not only provide jobs but it will make Nassau Paradise Island the premier destination in the Caribbean for meetings and incentives and for tourism in general,” Brice says.
Nassau Paradise Island is the leading destination for groups in the Bahamas, with standout properties such as the massive Atlantis Paradise Island, Melia Nassau Beach Resort, Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island, British Colonial Hilton Nassau, One & Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island and Comfort Suites Paradise Island.
“Atlantis is our No. 1 property for meetings and incentives; 95 percent of our group business is there,” Brice says. “But with the opening of the new hotels at Baha Mar, we will see that percentage change a bit, although Atlantis will still be at the top for groups in the Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean.”
According to Brice, group business is picking up in the destination, and he sees continued growth for the market over the next several years.
“Right now, about 15 percent to 17 percent of our traffic is group business, and we are shooting for 20 percent to 25 percent to have as a base to build upon throughout the year with our other leisure markets,” he says. “We’re seeing groups booking out longer now—six months, a year, two years and even longer. A few years ago, they were only booking out two or three months in advance.”
According to Brice, corporate meetings and incentives is the destination’s top group market, and the average group size is usually 100 to 500 room nights, although the destination can accommodate groups of up to 2,000 room nights. With the Baha Mar development on the horizon, group capacity will increase.
Meanwhile, Brice says the destination is working on increasing airlift, particularly from the West Coast, where it hopes to start direct service from cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“We currently have good airlift from the Northeast, the Midwest and Florida, which makes the Bahamas cheaper and more accessible than our Caribbean competitors such as Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic,” Brice says. “The other things that set us apart are our beautiful beaches, all of the existing and new hotel product, the variety of outdoor activities and cultural experiences, and above all, the fact that we are significantly improving our service levels—rolling out the welcome mat so our visitors feel comfortable.”
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Meanwhile, areas of downtown Nassau are being redeveloped to include more shops, restaurants and nightlife venues, and the British Colonial Hilton will be adding more rooms.
Downtown Nassau is already popular with tourists as well as attendees, who head to attractions such as the Straw Market, Arawak Cay (the Fish Fry area), Fort Charlotte, the Educulture Junkanoo Museum and the Pompey Museum, all of which can be used for off-site events and cultural programs.
“We also just finished our first Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, which will be a yearly festival in Nassau,” Brice says. “That is another event a meeting group can have away from the hotel and partake in the cultural atmosphere of the destination.”
Other top Bahamas destinations for meetings and incentives include Grand Bahama Island and the Abaco Islands, both featuring the trademark stretches of beautiful beaches.
On Grand Bahama Island, scuba diving through underwater caves, deep-sea fishing and boutique shopping are among the favorite pastimes, while the Abacos are known for quaint colonial towns, a rich boat-building heritage and eco excursions.
Grand Bahama Island is home to several meetings-friendly properties, including Memories Grand Bahama Beach & Casino Resort, Flamingo Bay Hotel and Marina and the upscale Grand Lucayan.
“We’re an authentic and classic Bahamian resort with all the world-class amenities—a conference center, golf, tennis, a spa, a casino, a fitness center,” says Tom Anderson, chief marketing officer at Grand Lucayan. “[We have] a very relaxed, laid-back and casually elegant level of service and guest engagement. This makes us a great place for product launches, sales meetings, incentive programs and trade events.”
At the end of this year, Grand Lucayan will reopen the Lighthouse Pointe wing of the resort and offer an all-inclusive product to guests as an option to room rate only.
Meanwhile, Anderson says the property can provide unique cultural experiences for groups, such as a Junkanoo Festival, a Bahamian Fish Fry and a barbeque on Golf Rock beach, or a white-glove dinner for 500 in its ballroom.
“We can do the intimate to the fun, and energized to the traditional, all with a nice touch of Bahamian culture and service,” he says.
LORI TENNY is a former Meetings Focus editor who recently enjoyed a trip to Nassau Paradise Island. Her favorite Bahamian experience? The conch salad—to die for!
