Bahamas cruise head tax hikes delayed until January

Deputy Prime Minister/Tourism Minister Chester Cooper on Thursday told Bahamas media including Eyewitness News of the delayed implementation.

Follows cruise industry talks

The six-month reprieve follows Cooper's meeting with the cruise industry in Miami and conversations between the government and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association.

The $18 head tax is going up to $23 for each cruiser leaving The Bahamas via Nassau and Freeport and to $25 for those who leave by sea from a private island without visiting another port in the country.

Government fees are passed along to cruisers

Government taxes and fees are typically passed along to passengers separately from the cruise fare. So lines would have to absorb the added costs for cruises already sold. 

And lines need time to adjust the amounts of government taxes and fees in their customer communications.

'This kind of increase is significant and The Bahamas should have done a better job communicating its plans,' a source told Seatrade Cruise News. 

Plus: New environmental and tourism development levies

In addition, The Bahamas announced a new $2 per person tourism enhancement levy applying to passengers arriving in or leaving The Bahamas, by ship or air, starting in January.

Also new is a $5 tourism environmental levy for arriving or departing cruisers.

Caution on competitiveness/marketability

'The Bahamas needs to be careful in how it increases costs,' the industry source said. 'They have to look at this from a competitive standpoint. Adding all these fees on top of the ticket price compared to other vacation options starts to add up and impacts the marketability.'

Neither Cooper's office, the FCCA nor major cruise operators responded to earlier questions about a delay in the hikes. 

Cruising to The Bahamas is booming, with at least $1.5b in cruise-related infrastructue developments in progress or planned, as outlined in the June issue of Seatrade Cruise Review.