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Radisson Hotels & Resorts' recent addition to its portfolio of the Radisson Our Lucaya Resort, Grand Bahama Island represents a new market strategy for the hotel firm, according to Fredrik Korallus, executive vice president and COO.
Radisson currently operates resorts in Aruba and St. Martin.
"We are excited about the Grand Bahama acquisition," Korallus said of the former Westin property. "This marks our third AAA Four Diamond brand in the region and completes our Caribbean portfolio for now.
The destination itself complements Radisson's existing portfolio, Korallus said. "Here in the Americas we need key destinations. Our primary focus has been to enhance our city properties in the U.S., particularly New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. When an opportunity arises to do the same for the leisure and meetings and incentive markets, as it did in Grand Bahama, we seize it."While Radisson is targeting the U.S. market as its primary customer base for Our Lucaya, Korallus said the destination also "does well out of Latin America, South America and Europe. The strength of the Radisson brand in the Caribbean and globally will be key elements in building our future business success."
The news of Radisson's foray into the Bahamas is welcome news for the destination's tourism industry, which has been challenged by the economic recession and dwindling visitor numbers, as has much of the Caribbean region in the past year.
Radisson's expansion into the Bahamas was followed by the announcement that Sandals Resorts International will reopen the former Four Seasons resort on Exuma in the Out Islands on Jan. 22. Sandals currently has a resort in Nassau and another in Fowl Cay in the Exumas chain. READ MORE HERE
