THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM, INVESTMENTS & AVIATION ON VISITOR ARRIVALS

Nassau, Bahamas (30 January 2023) The Ministry of Tourism is extremely excited to announce that visitor arrivals to The Bahamas eclipsed seven million in 2022, signaling a return to pre-pandemic tourism numbers.

In total 7,000,706 visitors came to The Bahamas in 2022.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments, and Aviation Chester Cooper praised The Bahamas’ performance and the work put in by industry professionals across the board.

“The fact that we have exceeded expectations and attracted more than 7 million visitors to our country in 2022, something only done once before in a single year was no accident,” he said.

“Countless stakeholders in the Bahamian tourism industry, including our international partners, worked tirelessly to achieve this. We sought to strengthen relationships to open new air routes. We sought to make travel to The Bahamas easier, more accessible, and affordable and took the message that we were open for business during our Missions and provided insight on our wonderful offerings to the world.”

DPM Cooper forecasted that 2023 promises to shatter even prepandemic numbers as interest in the Bahamas and our brand reputation have never been stronger.

“According to statistics the second half of 2022 outperformed the second half of 2019,” he said. In 2022, 1,470,244 visitors came to our shores by air; another 5,530,462 visitors arrived by sea.

Nassau and Grand Bahama remained our most popular destinations by air, while Nassau and The Berry Islands remained our most popular destinations by sea.

Foreign air and sea arrivals for 2022 were up by 233 percent over the same period in 2021 and just 3.4 percent shy of record arrivals in 2019.

December 2022 saw total arrivals eclipse 900,000 visitors, more than any month in our history.

Cruise arrivals in 2022 increased by nearly 400 percent over 2021 and were less than 1 percent below 2019 cruise arrivals.

Air and cruise arrivals monthly from July to December 2022 surpassed the corresponding month in 2019.

Occupancy rates for 2022 eclipsed occupancy rates for every corresponding month in 2021.

The average daily room rate in 2022 outperformed that category for every corresponding month in 2021. The Bahamas carved out new ground with more than 55 percent of first-time arrivals to The Bahamas, with increases in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

DPM Cooper confirmed that the last six months are the strongest The Bahamas has ever seen.

He firmly concluded by saying; What the Ministry of Tourism, Investments, and Aviation are forecasting so far and what forward bookings indicate, is that we are on track to break records in 2023. We don’t see this slowing down anytime soon.”

Mrs. Latia Duncombe, Director General of Tourism added that everyone should understand that tourism is critical to our economy and all Bahamians, even those who do not directly work in the tourism industry, should al- ways seek to lift the industry up.

“We are all in the tourism business in The Bahamas. And it’s a great business to be in. We want to keep our brand fresh and evergreen. And that’s everyone’s job, especially mine. I have a great, hardworking team at our ministry and we have some incredible things in store this year.”

Paula Saunders from the community of Governor’s Harbour, shared that God laid on her heart a vision to help to feed the primary school children within her home township. The breakfast ministry, she said, first started with the primary school kids, and as word got around, high school children also took part. So, she and a group of dedicated ladies from her home church, St. Patrick’s Anglican, decided that they would get together once each month, on the first Monday morning in every month - and would feed whoever came in - parents and all. The group of ladies, including: Paula Saunders, Linda Haschker, Sandra Young, Deshon Johnson, Stephanie Bethel, and Ruth Ann Griffin, lay out a tasty and nutritious spread each first Monday within the St. Patrick’s Parish Hall, volunteering their time and resources. In January, more than one hundred people were fed.

Page. 17 up and running and to involve as many Eleutherans as possible in our work.”

When asked about what local Eleutherans can expect when it comes to interacting with the property after opening, Mr. Gaskins offered, “There are a couple of things. So, one, Eleutherans should expect a significant recruitment drive ahead of our opening, here in Eleuthera. We have committed to almost 200 hundred jobs. Our record on that is quite good actually. We committed to 120 jobs during construction. We almost tripled that - 80% of which are Bahamian. And still hiring. There are still opportunities there.

He added, “Eleutherans should also expect opportunities to become a part of our sourcing and procurement operations. In the very near future we will be announcing a trip here by our sourcing and procurement teams to take a look at the landscape and see how we can contract people for our operations - for everything from landscaping perhaps, to port adventures (taking people out on the water, taking them on tours around the island). So, there are opportunities in employment, sourcing and procurement - even in the port excursions area.”

Touching on the important issue of site access, Mr. Gaskins, explained, “If you go back to our Heads of Agreement (HOA), section 5.1, we guaranteed continued access to the site for Bahamians and residents once we open.

That was something that the community here in Central and South Eleuthera requested specifically, and that we have had in the HOA. So, lots of discussions around what that will look like exactly, but I think Eleutherans should be assured that access will remain to that beach once we open for operations.”

He continued, “Just as a reminder, we are donating 180 acres of the property back to the government of The Bahamas, including that southernmost point where the lighthouse is located. So, that will actually remain as property of the Bahamian government. In our Heads of Agreement, we have guaranteed access through the development to the beach - and for Bahamians and residents, the promise was for access to that property, and we signed it in the HOA. So, I really want to nail down that commitment is something that we take very seriously... When Eleutherans drive down, that is a site they will continue to be able to access, once we are in operation.”

Gaskins also reminded, that during the construction phase, with safety an issue for traversing through the development, that DCL has provided a relocated road for immediate use.

“We have also committed to creating a public access beach with facilities, on that eastern beach as well. So, if you don’t want to come directly on property, you will have a better laid out road with public facilities and bathrooms on that eastern beach, within the 180 acres given back to the government and the people of The thanked the organization’s leadership for the opportunity to serve and for the heartfelt thanks and send off given. The intimate staff event featured moving tributes, gifts, and accolades from the Board of Directors, Senior Leadership, Management & Staff. As dear friends of the organization, we continue to wish Audrey, Maisie, and Kenwood the very best in this new chapter of their lives and careers, and look forward to collaborating in new and beneficial ways in the future.

Our recent partnership with The Ministry of Tourism to host the Annual Food and Craft Festival at CTI on Saturday, Jan. 28th was a smashing success! A delightful array of talented Bahamian artisans, souvenir producers, and food vendors displayed their best wares and kept the crowd engaged and happy from 10 am straight through to 10 pm. Electric evening performances by Fire Dancers, local songbird Nishie L.S. and the melodious Vision Band kept the festivities energized and entertaining. People from all across the island attended and brought their families to delight in a day of cultural celebration and fun. Set against the lush and beautiful backdrop of the CTI grounds and stunning pool deck, guests enjoyed the spacious layout and ample parking while vendors enjoyed a steady flow of shoppers throughout the day. The event ended with a live junkanoo rush out and was deemed a great success by the organizers. We look forward to partnering and hosting many more community events, festivals and activities on the CTI campus to support local businesses and entrepreneurs, stimulate our local economy and further develop Eleuthera’s arts and culture sector.

It’s that time of year again! CTI has a line-up of Professional Certificate courses slated to begin this February at the North Eleuthera, Harbour Island Trade School (CTIHITS.) Courses are ten weeks and NAECOB-approved. They include Intro to Culinary, Bartending and Mixology, and Carpentry. Student scholarships are also available, but seats are limited so interested persons are urged to register immediately by emailing: registrar@oneeleuthera. org or by calling or messaging 242-815-3800. The

Bahamas.

“I want Eleutherans to understand that we are partners with them. Obviously, change brings both risk and reward. They should always feel free to reach out to me or anybody else on the Disney team for any potential opportunities, and also if there are things that they are seeing that they want to talk to us about. We are here to problem solve and to improve the communities that we come to. I want people to know that we are totally dedicated to that. For jobs and subcontracting opportunities, people can reach out to (lhpjobs@americanbridge.net). For any enquiries about the property, reach out to me directly by email at (dcl.lighthousepoint@disney.com).”

Pictured: A wide cross-section of players took part in the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ Doubles Tennis Tournament, hosted in Palmetto Point. Dean, followed by runners up, Michelle and Caitlyn Walker.

The men’s consolation prize went to the team of Kevin and Jayden Carey, while the women’s consolation prize was taken by Sarah Brie and Elisa Herbst.

Following the event, daughter of one of the participants, and professional tennis player, Colleen ‘CoCo’ Vandeweghe, sent a video

CTI-HITS school has a ninetyfive percent graduation rate and a ninety-five percent alumni employment rate. Prospective students are encouraged to start their own success journey by registering and taking advantage of this opportunity to get certified and bolster your resume.

The farm is also bustling with activity and sprouting with new life this new year. We are seeing an uptick in tours and requests to volunteer at CTI and it’s been exciting welcoming new and diverse groups to experience our campus. Students from Williams College, led by Sarah Gardner visited in January. The group of ten helped farmers Tim and Selima Hauber transplant hundreds of tomato seedlings into a vertical Hydroponic Bato Bucket System in the Oasis Grow House. The first tomatoes are already appearing on the vines. Visiting from Suny Morrisville University in New York, a group of sixteen students and their professor Dr. Elisa Livengood, made a farm tour their priority during their visit to the island. The Oasis Grow House was high on the group’s Eleuthera “must see” list, and they weren’t disappointed! Local student tours are also welcomed. We recently message to ETA president Artie Johnson, saying, “I would like to congratulate Kevin and Kevin for winning the first annual Eye of the Tiger event. I would like to also congratulate Artie for putting on a fantastic event with his team. I’m just a little jealous. I know I won the 2018 Women’s US Open Doubles, but where was my invite? I saw the trophies - I want one. Invite me next year. Congrats guys!” hosted eighth-grade students from Deep Creek Middle School to explore our sustainable farming techniques. With the Grow House entering full production there is lots to learn and observe from week to week. Fresh produce from the Oasis Grow House can also be purchased at our weekly Friday Farmstand at CTI from 10am to 3pm. We continue to provide our local community with fresh, affordable greens that taste just as amazing and nutritious as they look.

Pictured above: Students from Williams College, led by Sarah Gardner with farmers Tim and Selima Hauber in the Oasis Grow House. Below left: Deliciously creative Charcuterie displays prepared by Chef Jasmine of Farmer’s Table restaurant as a pre-dinner treat for wedding guests. Below right: MOT event vendor: She’s a pretty Eleuthera Pineapple-Gal with customized gift items to match!