Bahamas boom.

• Author: Luxner, Larry
• Position: !Ojo! - Tourist regulations

INVESTORS ARE pouring billions of dollars into hotels, resorts, and golf courses in the Bahamas--by far the Caribbean's most poplar resort destination. But a new law that requires United States citizens to carry passports when they fly overseas could put a big dent in those plans.

Nearly five million foreigners visited the Bahamas last year, 86 percent of them from the US. Tourism comprises 60 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product and has given the Bahamas a per-capita income of nearly US$18,000, one of the highest in the Caribbean.

At the moment, casino operator Harrah's is finalizing plans for a US$2 billion-plus resort on New Providence, which along with Grand Bahama Island is home to most of the Bahamas' 320,000 inhabitants.

The joint venture near Nassau's Cable Beach will be 57 percent owned by Baha Mar Resorts, a Nassau-based resort owner and operator, and 43 percent by a subsidiary of Harrah's. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has agreed to manage four hotels under the St. Regis, Westin, and Sheraton brands.

The 1,000-acre Baha Mar complex is projected to have 3,000 rooms, with Harrah's operating a Caesar's Resort, with 1,000-plus rooms and a 10,000-square-foot casino. Construction is scheduled to start this year, with an anticipated opening in 2011.

Separately, Kerzner International is spending US$600 million on its Phase III expansion project of the Atlantis Paradise Island resort. This project alone involves 2,000 new jobs. The re-opening of Club Med in San Salvador and the recent announcement of a US$130 million project for Abaco will further strengthen tourism, as will a smaller project on Royal Island, located 190 miles east of Miami, near Harbor Island.

The uninhabited 440-acre Royal Island, when fully developed, will feature single-family estates in private enclaves, a boutique resort hotel, a spa, restaurants, and a Jack Nicklaus golf course. The resort will be managed by Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants and should open in 2009.

In 2004, hotel-room revenues stood at US$322.5...