Bahamas cruise tax hike delayed until January 2024

Sunday, 23 Jun, 2023 0

The Bahamas is delaying the recently announced cruise tax hike.

An increase in the cruise head tax was set to take effect next month.

It is now postponed to January 2024 Tourism Minister Chester Cooper says.

It follows discussions with cruise lines and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association.

“Nobody wants their taxes to increase. They’ve made certain representations. We’ve taken those into consideration,: Cooper said.

The current $18 head tax will increase to $23 for each cruise guest departing Nassau and Freeport.

The cruise tax is $25 for those on ships that only visit a private island in the Bahamas.

The government is also imposing additional cruise taxes which take effect next year.

These are a $5 tourism environmental levy and a new $2 per person tourism enhancement levy.

It would take the total payable to $30, or $32 from a private island.

The cruise tax hikes come just after the completion of major upgrade work at Nassau Cruise Port which cost about $300 million.

It can now handle up to six ships a day.

“There’s a lot of development in the Bahamas, we’re working to see if, at least, it can get pushed out,” said Carnival Cruise Line President, Christine Duffy.

below social share icons

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau (DMCVB) is the only organization that promotes metro Detroit regionally, nationally and...

The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, works to enhance visitors’ experiences by providing information, resources and trip planning tools...

Virtuoso is the leading global network of agencies specializing in luxury and experiential travel, with more than 20,000 advisors. We...

Destination British Columbia (Destination BC) is a Provincially funded, industry-led Crown corporation that supports a strong and competitive future for BC’s...

Babble is a leading technology business that is reimagining how we do work. Founded in 2001, the company works with...

We are a small-group adventure travel operator offering more than 750 tours in 100 countries, on all seven continents. Our...

Consisting of the three Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island as well as Newfoundland and...

Some describe it as a natural playground. Some say, it’s simply unique as it offers a great array of travel...

Discover Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach, also known as the Charlotte Harbor Gulf Island Coast. This natural wonderland is nestled in the...

Chargebacks911 offers scalable solutions that are customized for any business of any size in any industry. With the flexibility to...

At Visit California, our mission is to develop and maintain marketing programs – in partnership with the state’s travel industry...

Family-owned Olympic Holidays has been arranging holidays to Greece, the Greek islands and Cyprus for more than half century. The company is unrivalled...

SOUTH AUSTRALIA. FOR THOSE WHO WANT A LITTLE MORE. South Australia. It’s a beautiful place. A place for the restless,...

Central Florida’s Polk County is conveniently located between Orlando and Tampa, and an easy drive to Central Florida attractions and...

Traveltek is the world-leading provider of online solutions for the travel trade, from consumer-facing websites to call centre applications. We...

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels...