The Tribune

THE news that The Bahamas has set a new record for tourist arrivals is not only welcome, but a sign of our nation’s healing.

When the COVID pandemic ripped around the world, and shattered our own tourism industry, recovery seemed a long way off.

The first task for any administration after the last election, no matter who won, would be to rebuild our economy from the blow struck to us by COVID, itself following the previous blow inflicted by Hurricane Dorian.

Our tourism industry has not only done that now, but gone one better – and set a new record.

Total visitor arrivals have already equaled 2019’s full-year record of 7.2m, with still two months of the year to go.

Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, who is also Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, is not resting on his laurels – and has set his sights on another 800,000 arrivals by the end of the year to hit a total of eight million.

The lion’s share of those visitors have come by sea – just shy of six million so far, and the new cruise port is playing its part in enhancing our presence as a destination and bringing in more ships, more passengers and more money.

It is unashamedly a success story, and it is well worth applauding.

Certainly, people will have been bursting to travel again after the enforced lockdowns and shut-down air routes of pandemic times – but making the most of that desire is not to be taken for granted.

Mr Cooper insists that the success is “no fluke”, which if so we can look forward to success in future years too.

It would be fair to say that not only getting back to pre-pandemic levels of tourism but exceeding them is very much a job done.

Govt and FTX realtionship bears watching

THE thorny revelations about FTX continue to drip out as court cases proceed.

First, there was the claim in a book about Sam Bankman-Fried that he had considered paying off the national debt of The Bahamas and that he had discussed the idea with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis. That claim was swiftly rebuffed by the Office of the Prime Minister, which said that the suggestion was “never entertained”.

Next came a claim in court documents of an email in which Mr Davis reportedly asked Mr Bankman-Fried to advise Mr Davis’ son on a digital assets project he was working on. That claim has not been countered so far, though there was no suggestion of wrongdoing by Mr Davis in regard to the email. The Coindesk website however suggested it “underscores the cosy relationship” FTX had with Bahamian officials. Mr Bankman-Fried said in court that he talked to Mr Davis’ son.

And now another claim in court documents suggests that Mr Davis and his wife were given courtside seats for the Miami Heat. FTX was the sponsor of the Heat’s arena.

Again, the Office of the Prime Minister has spoken up, saying Mr Davis had attended a Miami Heat game but not on the FTX dime.

It is however another item in a slow drip-drip of stories revealing FTX’s connections with Bahamian officials.

As the meat of the case emerges, it will be asked whether anything was done that might have been more questionable – such as perhaps allowing individuals to withdraw their funds at a time when trading was supposed to have been locked down.

The ongoing case will have many more things to come – not least of all what appears to be disastrous handling of funds by FTX.

It will bear close viewing.