In the four years prior to 1950, tourism arrivals to The Bahamas numbered about 32,000. In 1950, Sir Stafford Sands, a leading member of the Bahamas Government, revived the Tourism Development Board, giving it a budget of $500,000 which it used for extensive advertising and the opening of five overseas offices in North America and Europe.
In 1950 the country received 51,975 visitors, in 1951 76,758, in 1953 99,867, and 142,689 by 1954.
A number of new hotels were built and the Bahamas capitalized upon the growing economy of the USA to generate more business. In Grand Bahama, Billy Butlin, a British entrepreneur, bought a substantial amount of land at the western end of the island and developed a 250 room hotel designed to cater to middle income Americans. It quickly failed but was reopened in 1955.
This tourism number ballooned to 200,000 a year by 1959.
Hotels, Clubs & Accommodation
Listed below are the new or refurbished establishments during the 1950s.
- Andros Yacht Club
- Bahamas Hotel Association
- Bang Bang Club
- Big Game Club and Anchors Aweigh Hotel
- British Colonial Hotel (A Gill Hotel)
- Buccaneer Club
- Carlton House
- Club Peace & Plenty
- Coral Harbour Hotel and Club
- Cotton Bay Club
- Dolphin Hotel
- Emerald Beach Hotel
- Fort Montagu Beach Hotel
- French Leave
- Gleneagles Guest House
- Grand Bahama Club (A Jack Tar Hotel)
- Hatchet Bay Yacht Club
- Little Orchard Cottages
- Lyford Cay Club
- Mayfair Hotel
- Nassau Beach Lodge
- New Plymouth Inn
- Pilot House Club
- Pink Sands Lodge
- Royal Elizabeth Hotel
- Royal Victoria Hotel
- Royal Victoria Hotel (Treadway Inn)
- Thompson’s Yachtel
- Windsor Inne
Stamps And Postal Products
References
- Tourism Today: The History of The Ministry of Tourism
- Tribube: A Look at the History of Tourism (2013)
