NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said yesterday that there is “shockingly” not enough Bahamian entrepreneurs operating in the tourism space, as he revealed that the government is looking to establish an authentically Bahamian product incubation center on Bay Street.
While delivering remarks at the opening of the Bahamas Development Bank’s (BDB) Financing Innovation Business Expo, Cooper, the Minister of Tourism, Aviation and Investments, said: “One of the things that we want to do is encourage more entrepreneurship in tourism.
“There ought to be more tourism related entrepreneurs.
“Shockingly, we are not seeing enough new entrepreneurs in the tourism space.
“If there is one failure of the tourism industry it is having not been able to attract more Bahamians to participate actively in the industry.”
Cooper noted that one of the biggest complaints of visitors to The Bahamas is that there is not enough to do.
“There [are] not enough restaurants, cafes and authentic experiences,” said Cooper, noting that the revamped Tourism Development Corporation (TDC) will seek to ensure that entrepreneurs are matched with industry stakeholders.
“We often boast about how the cruise lines bring 20,000 guests to the Prince George Wharf.
“That’s 20,000 customers. We have been able to attract just over seven million tourists (2019), but regrettably, we are not tapping more into that,” said Cooper.
He added: “One of the things that we are going to do is ensure that on Bay Street there is an authentically Bahamian product incubation centre.
“When you come to Bay Street and you travel East of East Street you see dilapidation.
“We are going to see if we can bring some life to that side of town and at the same time support entrepreneurs.”
Cooper said that the TDC has been tasked with establishing the incubation centre.
The minister said that supporting entrepreneurship in the country has to be about more than just talk.
He added: “We are going to pay more than lip service to entrepreneurship in this country.”
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