Prime Minister the Right Hon. Perry G. Christie delivers the keynote address at the 3rd Annual Eleuthera Business Outlook, which was held at French Leave resort on Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera, on Thursday, May 21. (BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay).
GOVERNOR’S HARBOUR, Eleuthera – The island of Eleuthera is on track for a major economic boom, which will return the island to its former glory, making it one of the most prosperous islands in the country said Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie as he delivered the keynote address at the 3rd Annual Eleuthera Business Outlook, Thursday, May 21.
Mr. Christie said that this impending economic boom in Eleuthera could be attributed to the island’s strong second home market.
“In terms of tourism development, the economic model of mainland Eleuthera is still evolving, “ he said. “The Ministry of Tourism’s records reveal that with 376 second homes actively engaged in short-term rentals, the islands of Eleuthera and Harbour Island are out paced only by Abaco in the Bahamian home rental market. Of that number, 290 are located on mainland Eleuthera, with seventy-five percent of these homes located in the settlement of Governor’s Harbour.”
Prime Minister Christie said that the venue at which the event was held — French Leave Eleuthera, a high-end condominium development – spoke volumes of the kinds of investments that second home owners were making in the country.
He also referred to the recent signing of a Heads of Agreement between the Government and Cotton Bay Holdings and Mine Holdings Limited, which will develop a five-star resort on the island in a very short time.
“Last week’s signing of a Heads of Agreement between the Government, Cotton Bay Holdings & Mine Holdings Limited concludes a 20-year-old vision and the determined effort of my Government with the principals of those companies to develop and operate what will become the Four Seasons Resort at Cotton Bay in Rock Sound, Eleuthera, a five-star branded resort,” said Mr. Christie.
He noted that Eleuthera is ‘ideally suited’ to this new niche product type of which a significant proportion throughout The Bahamas is Bahamian-owned. In fact, he explained that with 28 operating hotels, Eleuthera currently has as much second home room rental inventory as hotel rooms.
“When these home rentals are combined with newer resort developments such as the Cove and the Four Seasons, the Shaner Group here in Governor’s Harbour and other locally-owned establishments, it will undoubtedly accelerate consumer demand for a plethora of commercial and retail enterprises to service this sector,” said Mr. Christie — as a result, there is now a need for more cafes and dining and entertainment venues, sporting facilities, retail shops, food stores, which all deliver the kind of critical mass needed to generate economic activity.
He added, “these would satisfy pent-up demand for more vacation experiences from consumers, and Eleuthera is, now, certainly poised to provide these kinds of economic opportunities for its young entrepreneurs.”
