Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper
The deputy prime minister has called for greater Caribbean collaboration to attract more airlift and route expansion to the region from Europe, the Middle East, South and Central America.
Speaking at the Routes Americas 2025 conference, Chester Cooper, minister of tourism, investments and aviation, was among ministers from Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) member states who discussed ‘Shaping the future of Caribbean tourism’.
Other panelists included Valerie Damaseau, commissioner of tourism and culture, Saint Martin; Kenneth Bryan, deputy premier and minister for tourism and ports, Cayman Islands; and Ian Gooding-Edghill, minister of tourism and international transport, Barbados. The session was moderated by Dona Regis-Prosper, secretary-general and chief executive, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.
Mr Cooper called for “less talk and more action”, while urging regional airport and airline operators to collaborate on a unified approach to attracting additional flights from Europe, the Middle East, South and Central America and other areas.
He stressed: “Airlines are losing money, and therefore they must collaborate and bring technical expertise to minimise losses. They need to broaden their strategy and invest in the Caribbean region. The southern Caribbean will benefit through the work of CTO’s airlift strategy and, hopefully, The Bahamas will become a hub that attracts additional flights from Europe, the Middle East, South and Central America and others.”
Mr Cooper said The Bahamas has its challenges as a 16-island destination, with each island offering a unique flavour within the overall tourism product. He added that Bahamasair ensures local connectivity around the Family Islands, as well as regionally to destinations such as Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.
As for the Family Islands Airports Renaissance project, the deputy prime minister added: “We have a 14-airport programme totaling $300m. We are executing an arrangement for the management of four airports, and once that is completed, we will make an announcement.”
He said doubling The Bahamas’ 15,000-room hotel inventory over the next ten years is “achievable” and necessary to facilitate growth. “We have roughly 15,000 rooms. I have said I would like to see that number double over the next ten years. I think that’s achievable. Every resort will contribute toward achieving that goal,” Mr Cooper said.
“Resorts that are not fully operational now will come on stream but, certainly, it takes time to develop a resort. We won’t achieve an additional 10,000 to 15,000 rooms immediately, but over time, this has to be the sustained strategy.”
Routes Americas 2025 brought together more than 1,023 attendees from 63 countries to define the region’s air service networks. The event was hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation; Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board; and Nassau Airport Development Company.
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Publish date : 2025-02-17 06:21:00
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