First, the Bahamas' marquee hotel dismissed hundreds of workers. Then, a prestigious $500-a-night resort announced it was shutting its doors, and this week -- two more announcements of hotel closures: one permanent, the other temporary.

It has been anything but a pretty year for tourism in the Bahamas -- and not even Sunday's Miss Universe pageant at Atlantis resort on Paradise Island appears to be immune from the global economic meltdown.

Just days before NBC's live pageant telecast, Bahamian tourism officials, who were banking on the event's marketing glitz to spark life back into their struggling economy, announced a sale on tickets: four for the price of three.

``I am sure, to some degree, the recession does affect these things, but to what degree, I am not sure,'' said Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, who added that the slow sales have more to do with the high ticket prices than the country's tourism woes.

``We are charging prices for tickets that are probably unprecedented in recent times.'' Still there is no question that the tiny tourism-dependent Bahamas, like most of its Caribbean neighbors, is feeling the economic squeeze even as Federal Reserve board Chairman Ben Bernanke reported Friday that the deep global recession is nearing an end.

Last year, the 3,000 room Atlantis laid off 800 workers, or 10 percent of its staff. Then in May, the Four Seasons in Exuma closed. Then this week, just as Sandals International Resort announced that it had purchased The Four Seasons, the general manager of the Port Lucaya Resort and Yacht Club in Grand Bahama announced that it was shutting its doors on Aug. 31 after nearly 16 years.

The announcement came just days after the Wyndam Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino said it will be closed until Oct. 5.

`FEEL THE IMPACT'

``Until such time that the recession ends and consumer confidence begins to return, we will continue to feel the impact,'' Bahamas Hotel Association President Robert Sands said on the heels of this month's BHA mid-year economic review and tourism outlook survey.

The report's findings in a nutshell: despite deep room discounts at island hotels and other aggressive marketing, hoteliers continue to see a drop in sales and room occupancy. And at least three out of four of the 30 hotels surveyed anticipate a continue fall in revenues this year.

The Bahamas survey echoes findings by Atlanta-based PKF Hospitality Research (PKFHR), which recently issued its own bit of gloom for Caribbean hotels and resorts. In addition to a continued drop in profits -- it averaged 16 percent last year -- and closures like the Four Seasons, a number of Caribbean hotel projects from the Dominican Republic to the Turks and Caicos to St. Lucia have been stalled mid-way through construction, company officials said.

``It's affecting everybody in all market sectors, from luxury to all-inclusives. And those that don't have good airlifts are suffering the worse,'' Scott Smith, the group's senior vice president, told The Miami Herald.

But what may be bad news for hoteliers, is good news for consumers.

``Now is a great time to travel in the Caribbean if you have the time and affordability,'' Smith said. ``It's the cheapest it has ever been.''

In addition to deep discounting at myriad hotels, airline fares to a number of destinations have also dropped, and carriers like American Airlines are adding flights to the region, he said.

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