Monthly Economic and Financial Developments (MEFD) December 2024
Published: Monday February 3rd, 2025
Domestic Economic Developments
Overview
Indications are that the domestic economy’s growth trajectory moderated during the month of December, in comparison to the same period the previous year, as economic indicators continued to normalize closer to their expected medium-term potential. While tourism activity remained healthy, output was tempered owing to capacity constraints in the high value-added stopover component, in contrast to robust gains in the cruise segment. Monetary sector developments featured a contraction in banking sector liquidity, as the expansion in domestic credit outpaced the buildup in the deposit base. Meanwhile, the reduction in external reserves slowed, mainly due to net foreign currency inflows through the private sector, which offset net public sector outflows.
Real Sector
Tourism
Preliminary data revealed healthy tourism sector activity during December, albeit with some moderation, given accommodation capacity constraints in the stopover segment, as opposed to the robust gains in the cruise market.
According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, total arrivals increased to 0.9 million visitors in November 2024, relative to 0.8 million in the same period in 2023. Leading this outturn, sea passengers grew by 18.8% to 0.8 million. Conversely, air traffic reduced by 3.7% to 0.1 million.
A breakdown by major port of entry showed that total arrivals to New Providence rose by 7.8% to 0.4 million, vis-à-vis the corresponding period in the previous year. Of note, arrivals by sea advanced by 12.4% to 0.3 million, but air visitors were reduced by 5.4% to 97,236. Further, arrivals to the Family Islands expanded by 24.6% to 0.5 million, attributed to a 26.3% rise in sea passengers to 0.4 million, which overshadowed the 0.5% falloff in air arrivals to 24,164. Similarly, total arrivals to Grand Bahama grew by 3.2% to 48,120 visitors, amid a 21.7% increase in air traffic to 4,815 and a 1.5% gain in sea arrivals to 43,305.
On a year-to-date basis, visitor arrivals expanded by 16.4% to 10.1 million, as compared to the preceding year. Specifically, sea arrivals rose by 20.1% to 8.5 million. However, air arrivals declined slightly by 0.1% to 1.6 million..
Meanwhile, the most recent data provided by the Nassau Airport Development Company Limited (NAD) showed that, total departures—net of domestic passengers—edged down by 0.1% to 142,718 in December, relative to the corresponding period in the previous year. In particular, US departures fell by 1.6% to 118,620 passengers. In contrast, international departures grew by 7.6% to 24,098, vis-à-vis the same period in 2023.
On a yearly basis, total outbound traffic through the airport advanced by 2.6% to approximately 1.6 million passengers, a marked slowdown from the recovery-driven 22.9% expansion in the comparative 2023 period. Specifically, US departures moved higher by 2.4% to 1.4 million passengers, while non-US departures increased by 3.7% to 0.2 million.
In the short-term vacation rental market, data provided by AirDNA revealed that total room nights sold rose by 6.8% to 63,064 in December 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. The average daily room rate (ADR) for entire place listings increased by 0.9% to $702.02. However, the average daily room rate (ADR) for hotel comparable listings fell by 0.7% to $182.45. Given the stronger rise in inventory relative to sales, occupancy rates for entire place listings reduced to 56.7%, from 59.9% in the preceding year. Likewise, the occupancy rate for hotel comparable listings decreased to 57.4%, from 59.7% a year earlier.
On a year-to-date basis, total room nights sold advanced by 5.9%, owing to both increases in hotel comparable bookings (7.7%) and in entire place listings (5.1%). In addition, the average daily room rates for entire place listings and hotel comparable listings grew by 1.5% and 0.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate for entire place bookings declined by 5.3% and for hotel comparable listings by 3.8%.
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