The Tribune

TOURISM is the lifeline of the country and the African-American market is too important to ignore, Prime Minister Perry Christie told attendees of a major gospel concert.

He was at the Atlantis Crown Ballroom for the opening ceremony of the Radio One Love Getaway which is expected to bring more than 2,000 visitors to the country.

Addressing the crowd last night, Mr Christie outlined the ties between the Bahamas and the United States, with celebrated African-Americans W E B Dubois and Martin Luther King Jr both having visited the country.

He said many Bahamians, including himself, have personal ties to the United States and Bahamians are no different from Americans in that they all want the same opportunities.

Although the two countries are separated by oceans, Mr Christie said, citizens of both nations share the ‘common geography of the human soul.’

Mr Christie said: “The lifeline of this country happens to be tourism,” noting just under 70 per cent of the population are directly or indirectly employed by the tourism industry.

He recounted to the crowd a ‘spiritual tour’ he embarked on when he was first elected PM with Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcome and Bishop Neil Ellis where the group visited various churches around the island.

“And as a result of the experience, we decided that this multi-million dollar African-American market was too important for us to ignore,” Mr Christie said.

The opening ceremony was hosted by gospel singer, Yolanda Adams, and featured performances from Isaac Carree and Kurt Carr. The event ends on Sunday.