NASSAU, Bahamas — The Bahamas “cannot rest on our laurels” despite a 20 percent growth forecast for its tourism industry that is more than three times’ greater than the world average, the deputy prime minister is warning, The Tribune reported on Monday, December 5, in an article written by Business Editor Neil Hartnell.
Chester Cooper, in a videotaped interview on his trip to Saudi Arabia and the World Travel and Tourism Council’s global summit, asserted that The Bahamas “continues to punch above our weight class” by leading the Caribbean in the post-tourism recovery.
However, he warned that The Bahamas “must go further” in embracing technology and digital payments so that when visitors arrive in this nation they have access to all the tools they are accustomed to using at home – something that will he key for “seamless, frictionless, contactless” travel moving forward. The “harmonisation” of this country’s banking and data protection laws so that they are “in sync” with global standards was identified as critical to this outcome.
And Mr Cooper also admitted that The Bahamas has been losing market share to fast-growing Caribbean rivals, such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica, who have greatly expanded their hotel and room inventories so they can accommodate larger visitor numbers.
Urging Bahamas-based hotel owners, operators and investors to inject capital into expanding or developing new properties, Mr Cooper nevertheless predicted that the country will “beat” 2019’s pre-COVID numbers in 2023 and produce what could be “the best year ever seen in tourism”.
He asserted: “Tourism is growing in leaps and bounds around the world. The WTTC is projecting 5.8 percent growth. I am pleased to tell you The Bahamas is outstripping this growth significantly. We are projecting a 20 percent growth. This warms our hearts that when we benchmark what we are doing, we continue to be leaders.
“We continue to be leaders in the Caribbean. Our rebound continues to be faster than the rest of the world, quite frankly, so we are doing a lot of things right. We know we cannot rest on our laurels. There is significantly increased consumer demand. There is more need for seamless, contactless travel. We have to innovate, we have to ensure that our stakeholders are innovative, and we have to use technology efficiently and this transcends the tourism industry.”
It was not clear what the basis, or benchmark, is for The Bahamas’ 20 percent tourism growth. A WTTC study reported on by Tribune Business today (see other article on Page 1B) predicted that The Bahamas’ compound annual average growth (CAGR) rate over the next decade through to 2032 will be around 6 percent, just above the Caribbean and world average.
Mr Cooper, meanwhile, justified The Bahamas’ strong presence at the WTTC meeting by arguing that “we have to be at the table” to influence the future direction of global tourism, stay current with global trends, “ensure we are on the cutting edge” and meet private sector owners, operators and investors.
See complete article in The Tribune at http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/dec/05/cant-rest-our-laurels-20-growth-forecast/
