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Giving Visitors A True Bahamian Experience For The Holidays

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Bay Street comes alive for the holidays.  With visitor arrivals climbing, tourism officials are shifting focus to experiences.

Published

2 months ago

December 16, 2025

Delvardo Emmanuel

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – In just days, Bay Street comes alive for the holidays.  With visitor arrivals climbing, tourism officials are shifting focus to experiences.

The Ministry of Tourism is launching a downtown Christmas festival aimed at giving visitors something more to do and a reason to stay longer. 

Our Delvardo Emmanuel tells us more.

As cruise ships dock and hotels fill for the holidays, Downtown Nassau is being positioned as more than a pass-through, it’s becoming a destination.

The Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation is preparing to host the two-day authentically Bahamian Christmas Festival at Pompey Square, an experience designed to give visitors something meaningful to do beyond the beach and the shopping strip.

Leading that charge is Nikki Simmons, Director of Cultural and Authentic Events at the Ministry of Tourism.

She says the festival is built with the visitor experience in mind.

“ What our visitors can expect to see will be obviously Bahamian tradition at its finest. It’s going to be Bahamian music, Bahamian food crafts, skits. We’re gonna have Miss Daisy here performing Also Puzzle and other entertainers. What you’re gonna learn more about is the culture and what makes us special as a people.” – Nikki Simmons

From handcrafted ornaments to traditional dance and storytelling, organizers say this year’s festival invites guests to step inside the Bahamian christmas.

Instead of returning straight to the ship or hotel, visitors are encouraged to linger downtown and take part in the sights, sounds, and flavors of a Bahamian Christmas.

“ This is very important to revitalization people like travel, to learn more about culture, about history. This right here shows what our tradition is all about. Uh, for locals, you start to get into the whole Christmas field, become part of what, you know, what you grew up listening to, being a part of.” – Nikki Simmons

This year, the ministry is also partnering with the National Junkanoo Committee to expand the cultural experience and officially kick off the Junkanoo season downtown.

That’s where Anthony Boswick, Deputy Chairman of the Tourism Development Corporation and Chairman of the 2025 Junkanoo festival sub-committee, comes in.

“ There’s no tourism without junkanoo that goes hand in hand because, uh, the ingredient to our tourism. Uh, is the cultural authenticity of who we are as a people. Our beliefs, our attitudes, our values, and our skills always tie into junkanoo And with bringing this back to Bay Street for the locals to enjoy. – Anthony Boswick

Boswick says the evenings will feel different, alive, electric, and unmistakably Bahamian.

“What we are doing, one time ago, we have the Goombay Festival in the summer, we’re bringing the annual festival back in the evening time, you’ll have Pompei Square.
And also on the Eastern end, which we want to create into an art deco district. “ – Anthony Boswick