- Policy Addresses Impact of Potential Hurricanes on Vacations -
Taking a proactive approach to dealing with hurricanes and their impact on vacationers, the directors of The Bahamas Hotel Association(BHA) once again will offer a formal policy on hotel reservation cancellations caused by hurricanes.

In 1998, the BHA, which consists of the majority (80) of the large and small hotels and resorts in the more than 700 Islands Of The Bahamas, voted to accept the following official policy for vacationers who are unable to travel to The Bahamas for their vacation due to a hurricane situation: ...to give the vacationer a choice of using deposits or payments toward a future stay at the same property in The Bahamas, or in the event that the vacationer cannot travel back to The Bahamas, provide the traveler with a full refund.

The directors further resolved that guests who are already vacationing in The Bahamas when a hurricane hits or who are forced to stay over additional days past the end of their intended stay due to a hurricane be offered all possible courtesies and be charged the lowest possible rates in light of the situation. The BHA policy, administered on a voluntary basis, complements an initiative by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism to address the issue of hurricanes directly.

Since 1997, the Ministry of Tourism has hosted the annual Bahamas Weather Conference with experts from the National Hurricane Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Emergency Management Administration and others.