Just over 47,000 travelers through LPIA in April

Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) saw just more than 47,000 travelers pass through the country’s main gateway during the month of April, according to the newest data from the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD).

Though significantly less than typical numbers for the month of April, the 47,332 departures were a vast improvement over the 445 travelers counted for the same period in 2020.

The majority of departures – 45,995 in total – were US based, while the remaining 1,337 were non-US based, according to the data which was contained in the most recent Central Bank of The Bahamas economic developments report.

“On a year-to-date basis, the reduction in outward bound traffic extended to 67.9 percent, from 37.1 percent in the previous year. By region, both non-US and US departures declined by 89.2 percent and by 63.8 percent, respectively, notably higher than respective reductions of 33.2 percent and 37.9 percent in the same period of the prior year,” the Monthly Economic and Financial Developments report for April stated.

The short-term vacation rentals market continued to show strength, with a nearly 37 percent increase in total room nights sold in April, according to analytics firm AirDNA.

“Specifically, total room nights sold increased by 36.8 percent, a reversal from the 50.4 percent decline in the previous year. Underpinning this outturn, bookings for entire place listings and hotel comparable listings grew by 38 percent and by 25.9 percent, respectively,” the report states.

“Pricing indicators varied, as the average daily room rate (ADR) for hotel comparable listings rose by 1.8 percent to $172.42, while the ADR for entire place listings fell by 3.3 percent to $481.31. On a year-to-date basis, total room nights sold decreased by 14.8 percent, reflective of a 25.7 percent falloff in private room listings and a 13.3 percent decline in bookings for entire place listings. Pricing data revealed that the ADR for both entire place and hotel comparable listings rose by 10.6 percent and by 4.7 percent, to $462.67 and $162.76, respectively.”

The government is seeking to capitalize off the growth in the vacation rental market by charging value-added tax to the value of the entire bookings of these rentals, as opposed to the service fee charge as is the current case.

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said he believes the government could collect as much as $32 million from this charge adjustment.

The post Just over 47,000 travelers through LPIA in April appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/just-over-47000-travelers-through-lpia-in-april/