Bahamas Philately: 1980 Definitive Series – 50c Tourist Development

During the late 1970’s, tourism in the Bahamas faced many difficulties. A number of major hotel projects were implemented resulting in tourism arrivals reaching a total of two million by 1982. By 1986 The Bahamas received three million visitors a year. However virtually all of the growth between 1982 and 1986 came as a result of cruise traffic which doubled from 720,000 visitors in 1982 to 1.5 million in 1986. As it takes the spending of more than fourteen cruise visitors to equal that of one hotel visitor, the rapid growth in cruise traffic, whilst boosting overall numbers, did little to boost revenues within the country. In fact it was at this time that the first effects of the conversion of potential hotel visitors to cruise visitors began to be noticed to the disbenefit of the country’s tourism industry.

It was in the 1980s that the hotel industry of The Bahamas began to experience serious difficulties with operating costs and return on investment. At the same time The Bahamas began to face a significant increase in competition as other destinations in the region began to wake up to the potential of tourism.

In response to this deteriorating business environment only one major hotel was built in The Bahamas in the late 1980s and that was Carnival’s Crystal Palace Hotel in Nassau.

Details
  • Designer: John Waddington of Kirkstall Ltd, Leeds, England
  • Printer: Format International Security Printers Ltd
  • Process: Lithography
  • Paper: 
  • Watermark: Crown CA (Diagonal)
  • Perf: 14.5 (comb)
  • Cylinders: Printed in four panes separated by gutter between the four panes, and guillotined into two horizontal panes.
    • 1A (Cyan) 1A (Yellow) 1A (Magenta) 1A (Black) 1A (Red) : 1B (Cyan) 1B (Yellow) 1B (Magenta) 1B (Black) 1B (Red) [upper left : upper right]
    • 1C (Cyan) 1C (Yellow) 1C (Magenta) 1C (Black) 1C (Red) : 1D (Cyan) 1D (Yellow) 1D (Magenta) 1D (Black) 1D (Red) [lower left : lower right]
  • Sheet: R10 x 5 in two panes separated by a gutter (100 stamps)
  • Quantity:
Cylinder Numbers
References
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