NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said yesterday that the Davis administration has approved over $1.2 billion worth of investment for Exuma since coming to office, while announcing that funding is now in place to proceed with the construction of the island’s primary gateway.
Cooper—the Minister of Tourism, Aviation and Investments—who was addressing the Exuma Business Outlook noted that a “world-class airport” is critical to Exuma, adding that although ground was broken for the project just prior to the general election last year, the project was not fully funded.
“…when we came to office the contractor was owed $10 million,” Cooper said. “This led to the delay that was experienced over the last year.
“We now have adequate funding in place and work resumes on the Exuma International Airport this month. We are in the final stages of organizing funding from a Public Private Partnership to ensure the ongoing development of the airside as well as the land side works for this world-class airport,” Cooper continued.
While September has typically been a slow month for the country’s tourism sector, Cooper claims this past September has been very strong.
“I predict that by year’s end we will match the record-setting 2019 arrivals overall. In 2019 more than 70,000 visitors spent time in Exuma. As of August, we have attracted 57,0000.
“Exuma is truly a success story in the business of tourism and I can tell you we can fill twice the number of hotel rooms we have on the island, given the trends and leads we see onBahamas.com and other booking platforms,” said Cooper.
He urged hoteliers on the island to expand their room inventory and also called for the construction of more vacation rentals to satisfy the demand.
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