The Tribune

THE Ministry of Tourism has highlighted the need to make the industry thrive as the country hosts a two-day conference.

The two-day Small Island Developing States Conference is being held at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Perry Christie officially opened the two-day conference.

Held under the theme: “Tourism is a Key Sector for Development in Island States”, it attracted approximately 250 delegates from around the region, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme.

The conference is being held as the country celebrates “50 years of tourism” and the observation of February as Sustainable Tourism Month.

In his welcoming address, Obie Wilchcombe observed that although tourism is the “cash cow” for The Bahamas and other Caribbean economies, it is imperative to look at sustainable measures.

“We need to discuss what we can do to make this industry thrive and to generate opportunities for our people,” he said.

The focus is to build on the conclusions of the Conference on Sustainable Development of Tourism in Islands held in Reunion Island in September 2013.

Its purpose is to serve as guidance to national tourism authorities and the international community as an input to the Third International Conference on SIDS, scheduled to be held in September 2014 in Samoa.

During panel discussions, presenters and delegates spoke about wide-ranging issues impacting island destinations.

These included competitiveness and sustainability, travel facilitation and risk management, the enhancement of the benefits of the industry.

Also under the spotlight was using those benefits to alleviate poverty and increase the quality of lives of the local communities and looking at the link between tourism and alleviating poverty.