NASSAU, Bahamas — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper said The Bahamas’ tourism arrivals are 30 percent ahead of where they were in 2019. He foreshadowed yesterday that the country could exceed eight million visitors, setting a new record, The Nassau Guardian reported on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, in an article written by Chester Robards.
Cooper, who was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the launch event for the second annual Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF), scheduled to take place at Atlantis in October, also explained that there is growing interest in trade and tourism from Africa, and hinted to a possible direct flight to The Bahamas from Ghana.
“Suffice to say there is significant growing interest in Africa for trade as well as tourism. And we continue to keep the lines of communication open with our stakeholders and partners,” said Cooper.
“Many people are calling for a direct flight. I foreshadow that that will happen. But that’s all I can say at this point.”
Cooper said there has been significant growth in airlift to The Bahamas, and explained that Delta will soon begin daily service into Nassau from Florida, as well as daily non-stop service from Atlanta into Nassau.
He said the strategies that have been put in place by the Ministry of Tourism have been producing results and leading the country to a possible record year of tourism numbers.
“I invite the stakeholders to brace themselves,” said Cooper. “It’s good now and it’s only getting better.”
He added: “We’re seeing a 30 percent arrivals increase ahead of where we were in 2019, and 2019 I remind you was a record setting year.
“Barring an act of God, we’re going to break the eight million visitor arrivals mark. And we anticipate that based on the strategies we’re putting in place by the Ministry of Tourism right now, that we’re going to exceed the eight million tourist arrivals mark, which would be the best year ever in the history of The Bahamas.”
Cooper added that while the country needs more hotel rooms to accommodate this growth, Bahamians are taking up the slack by opening properties as vacation home rentals. He added that there are a number of foreign direct investment projects that are currently under development and set to come on stream in the next few years.
“Bahamians are taking advantage of this new vacation rental trend,” Cooper said.
“COVID spurred this on because people preferred to have their own spaces rather than to be in big resorts. So they tried it out, they liked it, and places like Exuma, it’s really filled the void for a lack of hotel rooms.
“Bahamians are investing, they’re making money. It’s good for tourism, it’s good for the product, and it’s helping to bridge the need for more rooms.”
See article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/arrival-numbers-trending-30-ahead-of-2019-says-dpm/
