The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The deputy prime minister yesterday asserted there is “no question in my mind” that all Bahamians are feeling the impact from more than $6bn in tourism spending driven by record visitor arrivals.

Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investment and aviation, said this nation had beaten the full-year target of eight million tourism arrivals with two months left in 2023 as he disclosed that the “explosive numbers” place the industry on a growth trajectory through to 2025.

Describing the Bahamian tourism industry as “not only back, but better than ever”, with arrivals for November and December yet to be counted he said this is the first time The Bahamas has been able to “grow our tourism numbers so rapidly”.

Mr Cooper added: “It is with great pride and excitement, as deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, that I can report today for this year The Bahamas has recorded a smashing eight million-plus tourist arrivals.

“In 2019, a historic year for Bahamas tourism, total tourist arrivals were 7.2m. Last year, total tourist numbers matched 2019’s record, and today we are over eight million. I point out that we have still not counted November and the full month of December. We’re not only back, we are better than ever. This is the first time in the history of our nation that we were able to grow our tourism numbers so rapidly.”

Mr Cooper said the Ministry of Tourism is expecting the trend to continue into 2025, while foreign air and sea arrivals for October increased by 45.7 percent compared to 2022’s numbers for the same period.

He added: “Our explosive numbers put our trajectory in a continuing upward trend well into 2024. For ten consecutive months, January to October, total air and sea arrivals were higher compared to same months in 2022 and 2019, which was then our banner year of tourism. We have now successfully moved the goalposts.

“In fact, foreign air and sea arrivals in October increased by 45.7 percent compared to the same period in 2022, and surpassed 2019’s level by 32 percent.” While the majority of visitors still come from the US, those from regions such as Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and others have increased.

“We estimate that the direct visitor spend in the Bahamian economy as a result of these arrivals will far exceed $6bn of new money injected directly into the economy,” Mr Cooper said. He assured that all Bahamians are feeling the benefits, although he did not provide comparative data for tourist spending in past years.

“When I talked about this $6bn in new money injected into the economy, it goes into the pockets of hotels and hotel workers, into airlines and airline workers, restaurants and restaurant workers, in the pockets of vendors - straw vendors, hair braiders, taxi cab drivers and the list goes on and on and on,” Mr Cooper added.

“So we’re not counting numbers for the sake of counting numbers. We’re demonstrating that the business of tourism is putting more money in more pockets. That’s our mission...... As you well know in the tourism business, much of what happens by way of take home is driven by gratuities - tips.

“The higher the level of occupancy, the higher the level of arrivals, the more people eating in restaurants..... I think it follows that the large majority of workers in the tourism space directly would have seen an increase in their overall take home pay. There is no question in my mind that everyone’s feeling the impact from the boom in tourism.”

Turning to The Bahamas’ key source markets, Mr Cooper added: “The US remains the top performing stopover market. The Latin American market is gaining momentum in steadily returning to pre-pandemic stopover levels while increased visitors are coming from Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and as far as Australia.”

“We are growing by air and by sea. Foreign air arrivals for October year-to-date were up by 19.7 percent for the same period last year, and also surpassed 2019 levels. Cruise tourism is hitting greater and greater heights. Cruise arrivals were up 54 percent over 2022 levels and 43.2 percent over 2019 levels.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis KC, in a statement released yesterday, said: “The surge in tourism directly contributes to our national income, creating extensive employment opportunities and stimulating various sectors of our economy.

“But beyond these immediate benefits, it provides a unique opportunity to drive our economic growth forward, with a particular focus on diversifying our product offerings and investing in Bahamian businesses.

“My administration is steadfast in its commitment to harnessing this momentum for our economy’s greater good. We aim to sustain and grow our tourism numbers and ensure that the benefits of this growth are felt across the breadth of our economy.”

Mr Davis added that a key goal is to foster the relationship between the tourism sector and other industries to ensure the economic benefits are felt throughout the country, and to invest in local businesses so that entrepreneurs can “tap into” the growing sector.

He said: “A key aspect of our strategy will be to deepen the linkages between tourism and other sectors. We recognise the importance of creating a symbiotic relationship between tourism and local industries. By fostering these connections, we can ensure that the economic benefits of tourism are more broadly distributed, supporting the growth of local businesses and entrepreneurs.

“Investing in Bahamian businesses is central to this strategy. We aim to empower local entrepreneurs, providing them with the resources and support needed to tap into the tourism market.”