Derecho del Turismo en las Américas

410 DERECHO DEL TURISMO EN LAS AMÉRICAS the South. According to The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (Bahama Host Undated), Blockade runners from all over the world swarmed into Nassau to benefit from the selling of goods in demand – cotton, medicine, guns and food. During this period, the country’s beauty was also seen in a new light and, by 1869, British Army Surgeon‑Major Bacot declared that the beautiful climate and healthiness of The Bahamas made it ideal for tourists. In 1873, one of the earliest official records of tourist arrivals to the country revealed that Nassau received 500 tourists in that year. 1898 Hotel and Steamship Act The tourist arrivals figures of 1873 encouraged the Governor of The Bahamas to actively entice some of the 100,000 tourists who were going annually to Florida at that time. Towards this end, a vital Hotel and Steamship Act was passed in 1898, which allowed the Government to encourage the development of hotels and, in particular, to lease the Royal Victoria Hotel to H.M. Flagler, founding father and Czar of Miami. Flagler later purchased the site of Fort Nassau and built the Hotel Colonial, which opened in 1900. Flagler filled these hotels with tourists fromFlorida. By the turn of the century, The Bahamas benefitted from continued investments in steamship and transportation services as well as hotel development. In 1917, for example, Munson Steamship Line provided a cruise ship service to Florida, while, in 1925, The Bahamas was provided with steamship service from New York, Britain and Canada. 1913 Manufactories & Hotels Encouragement Act In order to stimulate investments in other new hotels, the Manufactories & Hotel Encouragement Act was passed in 1913. This Act allowed hotels to receive exemptions from import duties on materials and furniture for building, erection, alteration or repair of hotels. Several investors took up the benefits provided under this Act, and hotel constructions continued. Included among the hotel development were: the Lucerne Hotel, built in 1913; the Rozelda Hotel, which was the country’s first apartment hotel and built in 1920; a 20‑room Allan hotel, built in the town of Nassau; and the 200‑room Montagu Hotel, which was opened in East Nassau in 1927. 1914 Development Board Act With the increase in hotel rooms and of travels to The Bahamas, seaplanes became an alternate means of transport (Cleare, 2007, p. 63). To effectively promote