By LETRE SWEETING

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis expressed his pride in the latest tourism statistics for visitor arrivals last year, placed at seven million, which resulted in “record-breaking revenue” for hotels and short-term rentals.

Yesterday Mr Davis said the strong activity within the tourism sector had an important impact throughout the domestic economy.

“(It) led to record-breaking revenue in both the hotel sector, as well as the short- term home rental market,” Mr Davis said in Parliament.

“Likewise, hotel revenue during the first six months of fiscal year 2022/2023 exceeded pre-pandemic levels, owing to steady occupancy and higher nightly rates,” Mr Davis said.

“As market conditions improved over the period, so did the demand for labour across the economy, mainly to support the tourism sector,” he said.

Mr Davis’ statements come several weeks following predictions made by Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper on visitor arrivals for 2023.

Last month, Mr Cooper, also minister for tourism, aviation and investments, forecasted tourist arrivals for 2023 would hit about eight million, with the British Colonial Hilton, in downtown Nassau set to fully reopen by the end of the year.

Mr Cooper predicted that “stopover visitors will be at least 20 percent ahead” of 2022’s total, which is set at 7,000,706 visitors.

Echoing Mr Cooper’s sentiments, Mr Davis said yesterday: “Falling just short of pre-pandemic levels, arrivals in 2022 totalled approximately 7 million, an undeniable indicator of economic rebound over the year.”

Mr Davis added: “In 2023, stopover arrivals are projected to exceed pre-pandemic levels, as the sector grows to meet continued demand for travel.

“Based on current trends and advance bookings, as last year’s momentum carries over into this year, it is predicted that total visitor arrivals will exceed last year’s seven million visitor arrivals by at least 20 percent. This outlook is being supported by advance booking data, market intelligence and strategic marketing in major source markets.”

“Industry experts anticipate continued growth within the tourism sector. They remain confident that further opportunities will avail themselves through the remainder of the fiscal year. On the whole, while the external economic environment still remains favourable, going forward it is clear that we will need to remain vigilant and prudent,” Mr Davis said.

Mr Davis said economic growth statistics from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a testament to the strong rate of growth expected this year.

“As a consequence of improvements in global market conditions, in October 2022, the IMF forecast that the rate of economic growth in The Bahamas would increase by 4.1 percent in 2023, and 3.0 percent in 2024,” Mr Davis said.

“While the IMF has not yet revised its forecast for domestic economic growth to take account of its latest global outlook, we remain confident that the upward momentum that we have witnessed to date, will largely be sustained,” he said.

Mr Davis said Bahamian families can expect to continue to see benefits as a result of the strong tourism activity.

“These initial reforms, the decisions we made at the very outset of our administration, put us in a position to maximise the benefit of a global rebound in economic activity, and allowed us to deliver tangible change for the Bahamian people,” Mr Davis said.

“Families were able to return to work with dignity and pride. The pent-up demand in the travel and tourism industry was unleashed on the domestic economy,” he said.

“Good governance was restored through fiscal reform and fiscal accountability,” Mr Davis said.