Election fever

It's time for an infusion of new energies and plans for 2012, which is an election year in the Bahamas. There's heavy campaigning for new jobs, support for small and medium entrepreneurs, and a drive to reduce taxes in a number of areas, including real estate transactions.

Meanwhile, a new president and board of directors have also been elected at the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, led by Deloitte senior manager John Swain, who's leading the charge with the theme, "Reset, Restart, and Restore," and in his inaugural speech as president has said, "‘We cannot allow the times we live in to define us; we have to define the times.”

There'll be elections as well at the Bahamas Real Estate Association. As members of the property industry, we have to do our part in addressing a number of issues which prospective real estate owners like you must have in mind, like the increase in stamp duty, which went up 2 percent across the board in the 2010-2011 budget, and real estate property tax (see article here).

Although first-time buyers aren't as affected, we acknowledge it as a serious concern. Again, it may be hard to ask any a number of real estate sellers now for a clear outlook on the industry. It remains to be seen, as we too observe progress toward the US elections. 

What we do we want to highlight is the optimism of big hotel brands like Carlson-Rezidor in the recovery of the US market (a hotel trade industry article discusses this in detail) and the announcement of their "Ambition 2015" program, which aims to grow their portfolio to over 1,300 hotels (their plans are outlined here). It's an important signal. Not incidentally, we're glad for the business they've given to our islands by hosting their Global Business Conference here just a few days ago.

Other important business meetings have just taken place, like the "Routes Americas 2012", where airlines such as Air China and a Brazilian carrier called TAM Airlines are looking to sign up new routes into the Bahamas. They are just two out of forty-two carriers attending the conference.

Increased airlinks to the Bahamas increase our viability with new markets, reaching farther into Asia and Latin America, and the timing is good, with our international airport in high gear with its $409.5 million renovation project.

We'll continue reporting important business developments as we go along, and we maintain an outlook of cautious optimism. We're not here to sugarcoat the issues; it is in our collective interest to face them head on.

Bahamas on the TODAY Show

If you’re in the US or with access to NBC’s TODAY Broadcast on Feb. 9 and 10, tune in at 10:00-11:00 am ET (TODAY fourth hour of broadcast) to see hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb broadcast from the Bahamas. More details on the broadcast here. The TODAY show will be shooting from Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, but they’ll be doing quite a bit of touring of the neighboring islands.

This is a good chance for you guys out there to check out different attractions and activities here in the Bahamas.

The story I mentioned emphasizes something I tell many of our clients: the islands and cays that make up the Bahamas have a special character of their own. Its different islands will appeal to different people and fit different kinds of lifestyles, whether you come here for work, intend to start a business, retire, or just spend part of your yearly vacation time here with family or friends.

You may wish for the exclusive lifestyle of the Exuma islands, exemplified by famous denizens like Johnny Depp, Janet Jackson and Demi Moore. If you seek to do business, you may find properties on the cosmopolitan yet old-world, colonial-style waterfront of Nassau more appealing. You may be in the Bahamas on transient business; consider it a worthwhile stopover before heading to places like South America, now more accessible via flights from our airport.

Still looking for info? The Bahamas Ministry Tourism, which has been promoting us with its slogan “It’s Better in the Bahamas”, has got a promotional website at www.bahamas.com – another good starting point for getting to know us. Do take note of significant improvements at Nassau’s airport – Phase I of a $400 million expansion project is nearing completion – as well as the improvements to Nassau Harbor completed in late 2010. The harbor project was worth $44 million and now accommodates mega cruise ships that have increased the amount of tourism business our islands enjoy.

We hear the weather’s been stuck at 42-45˚F in areas like New York, while here in Nassau, New Providence we’re basking in 79˚F weather,  more or less what we experience the rest of the year. Have you been pining for warm weather instead of the height of winter? 

Do tune in. We’ll be watching.