By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Chester Cooper brushed off talks of a possible recession as he pointed to strong tourism bookings for next year.

Mr Cooper said compared to 2019, which was considered a record-breaking year for tourism, holiday bookings were already up by 11 percent and added that officials expect this to increase due to “last minute bookings.”

The Tourism, Investments and Aviation Minister made the comments to reporters yesterday when asked about his ministry’s plans to maintain tourism activity amid warnings from experts about a likely global recession next year.

“We decided that we’re not going to participate in the recession,” Mr Cooper said. “Over the next three months, the numbers are very strong. ADG (the Acting Director General of Tourism) mentioned it’s in the region of 11 per cent ahead of 2019.”

He added: “If you look six months out, it’s also ahead and so it’s positive and as the (ADG) mentioned, we will see additional last-minute bookings. So, we expect this number to increase above and beyond the 11 per cent that we’re now seeing over the next three months. That’s 11 percent over 2019, which was a record setting year.

“We’ve implemented many strategies. This isn’t happening by chance. We have done many marketing and promotional missions. 

“There has been a strategic plan in place over the past twelve months to increase airlift. We are ahead on all of our islands, all of our destinations by way of airlift compared to 2019. “

In terms of seating capacity, Mr Cooper said: “We’re well in advance of 2019.”

He also expressed optimism that 2023 will be the best year the country has ever seen for tourism, as he had previously noted that forward bookings for the first half of 2023 were already showing promising signs.

“We won’t let up,” he added. “We’re positive but we want to ensure that we continue to make 2023 the best year that we have ever seen in the history of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas by way of tourism. We have a strong team, and the brand of The Bahamas continues to be very strong around the world.”

Mr Cooper spoke to reporters before touring downtown along with other officials from his ministry.

“We’re out with the entire team today (Thursday) really to feel the pulse of the tourists,” he said. “And we are excited to learn today that today is an exceptional day much like most of the other days as we’ve experienced over the last year, but today I believe we have five ships in the harbour, and almost 18,000 guests.

“And it’s evident as we walk on Bay Street, we see that it’s bustling,” he said.”

However, downtown owners and tourists have long lamented the state of dilapidated buildings among other issues, calling the area an “eyesore”.

Yesterday, Mr Cooper reiterated to reporters that officials are working to address the issue by putting in place several measures to help beautify the area.

These measures include doing more maintenance and consistently collecting garbage in the area, he added.

He also said that officials were improving public safety for tourists and have already made steps to beef up police manpower on the streets.

This follows a brazen daytime robbery last month when a man snatched a tourist’s purse downtown. The incident was captured on camera and went viral on social media.

“You will see that there is an improved police presence,” Mr Cooper continued. “Yesterday, the team had a meeting with the Commissioner of Police and the stakeholders in the downtown area, the Downtown Partnership, and we’re working together to put in place strategies to ensure less vagrancy and to ensure more law and order.

“I think the mere presence of police in the downtown area is important. The numbers have increased significantly, and you will see by the mere foot traffic that you will experience on Bay Street, that there is a high level of traffic, and therefore the police are responding appropriately.

“The idea is prevention, and we hope that we would not experience any incidences, like the one you mentioned, in near term or at all in the future, quite frankly.”