Tourism officials have reacted to the recent announcement of the temporary closure of Coral Towers at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.

Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board Chief Executive Officer, Joy Jibrilu told reporters the closure provides an opportunity for other properties. She said, “we all know that in the summer months number dwindle and of course to some degree you never want to see any of your rooms shut down but if that means great occupancy for the Royal Towers and the Cove, well that would be great. So rather than spreading it but concentrating it. And what it also means is that we just hope a much strong end of third quarter and in fact the forward bookings are looking as if they’re going to be quite strong so that’s very, very positive.”

According to Director General of Tourism, Latia Duncombe the year will end strong and expressed confidence in the strength of the destination. “From time to time we do look at the numbers, we do look at the visitor experiences but we continue to promote the destination. We’ve launched our new campaign, It’s Not Just One Island…It’s a Lifetime of Them, reminding our visitors that there’s so much to see and to do in the islands of The Bahamas. If you’ve only seen one or two or three islands you’ve not seen it all, sixteen islands for our visitors enjoy and also to explore.”

Coral Towers is expected to close after August 17th.