The Baha Mar casino resort is being credited for driving a nearly one-fifth rise in tourist traffic to the Bahamas.

On Monday, the Bahamas Tribune quoted Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar saying that the island nation had welcomed 18% more air arrivals in the first quarter of 2018 than in the same period last year. And the new $4.2b Baha Mar integrated resort, which opened its doors to the public last April, is being credited with helping to drive the growth.

D’Aguilar said the additional 63k air arrivals have been ramping up since the year began, with growth of 7% in January, 16.7% in February and 26.1% in March. D’Aguilar projected the double-digit growth trend to continue through the current quarter.

D’Aguilar noted that the Ministry had decided to focus its marketing efforts online, following research that showed two-thirds of Bahamas-bound tourists booked their vacations online.