The Association of Bahamas Marinas announced yesterday that the 2026 Bahamas Charter Yacht Show (BCYS) was cancelled due to circumstances beyond the control of the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM). Triton reached out to Peter Maury, president of ABM, to find out more on why the show was cancelled. “Last year, at this point we had 40 boats. Right now, we have less than 20. We were just going to be paying more money to have the show. There’s no boats,” Maury said. “We need a minimum of 25 boats, and we’re not even close to that. I think they said we have 12, and it’s a month before.” In addition to the small number of exhibiting boats, Safe Harbor Marinas has pulled out of the show. The world’s largest owner and operator of marinas served as a major sponsor of the show, further diminishing BCYS’s financial and economic viability. “The whole point of the show was to feature Bahamian companies. We charged $100 for Bahamian companies to be in the show, and if we don’t have a major sponsor, we cannot charge them more because they cannot pay more,” Maury said. “It’s a real loss. It’s no Florida boat show, but it’s a couple hundred thousand to the local economy in room sales, restaurant business.” Show organizers must put a guarantee on the number of rooms and marina slips they have reserved at Atlantis, but dwindling reservation and attendance numbers made ABM make the decision to give up the bookings and reclaim their funds before the booking becomes finalized. “Last year we lost; we didn’t lose a lot, but we lost some money,” Maury said. “And this year we were going to be losing thousands. The marinas are already losing enough money because of the fees and everything else, so we cancelled. We talked to the Ministry of Tourism, Bahamas Yacht Brokers Association… “Last year I cannot remember where it ended up. We had around 100 brokers and close to 40 boats. The year before we had 180 brokers and 80 boats. Everybody was shopping in the food stores, getting rooms, and we were actually growing. Then this happened.” Maury is among many who attribute the decline in visitors to the Bahamas to the fees introduced by the country in June. Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Tourism, Investments, and Aviation Chester Cooper released a statement on a review of boating fees and entry protocols this week. “Over the past several weeks, we have listened closely to the concerns expressed by our marina operators, tour guides, service providers and small business owners — particularly in Abaco, Bimini, and The Exumas — regarding recent changes to the regulatory framework affecting our boating sector,” the statement said. “We have also heard reports of cancellations and the sentiment from some visitors that they felt unwelcome.” Cooper continued to say that there will be a review of the current framework, its implementation, and its impacts. “The Ministry of Tourism is focused on ensuring that The Bahamas remains one of the most welcoming and competitive destinations in the region for boating visitors,” the statement said. “I am confident that through dialogue, cooperation, and good faith, we can arrive at an outcome that reflects our values, protects our interests, and reaffirms to the world that The Bahamas remains open, responsive, and ready to welcome all who wish to responsibly enjoy our waters.”