During what is traditionally a slow period for Abaco’s tourism industry, business is booming in picturesque Hope Town.
The community’s Harbour is brimming with boats as visitors seek an island getaway at the start of the year.
Rental houses are also booked solid as some visitors choose to keep to themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It helps that Abaco has been managing the pandemic well despite a Covid outbreak in late August.
Abaco has confirmed 34 new cases since January 19, with the two most recent cases reported on Friday.
In September 2019, the island was battered by Hurricane Dorian, sparking fears its economy would never recover.
However, with the help of local and international nongovernmental organizations , the island has slowly recovered.
Abaco’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell nearly 60 percent in 2020 from a five-year high of just under $600 million in 2018, according to the Department of Statistics.
Abaco’s GDP in 2015 was $530 million; $504 million in 2016; $586 million in 2017; $596 million in 2018; $389 million in 2019; and $243 million in 2020.