A new tourism office has been opened in New Bight, Cat Island. On hand for the occasion were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, the Hon. Chester Cooper, as well as the Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador, the Hon. Philip Davis. Minister Cooper told those in attendance, “the Cat Island you knew before as this quiet, laid back place, where you see a few tourist now and then, is the Cat Island you will see no more.”
Minister Cooper hopes to double Cat Island tourism numbers by 2023. He said, “today is the beginning of the renaissance for tourism in Cat Island. At the end of 2021, Cat Island welcomed 1,749 visitors, which exceeded your visitor count in 2019 by 41%. Ninety seven percent of your visitors come from the United States, which is our closest neighbour and biggest market. We do a lot of work on Bahamas.com and google analytics and we have received 39,000 views of what to do in Cat Island and we have generated nearly 5000 leads for hotels and tourism destinations in Cat Island.”
Member of Parliament for Cat Island, Prime Minister Davis said, “with the establishment of a tourist office here at New Bight, Cat Island asserts it’s rightful place among the sixteen island destinations that the Ministry of Tourism markets to the world. Growing up in Cat Island, I delighted in its gorgeous long stretches of pink and white sand beaches, swam with my friends in as many creeks, climbed its green rolling hills and explored the many plantation ruins across the island. Cat Island has always been paradise to me. I am indeed gratified to see growing numbers of travelers discover that it is a gem.”
As the number of visitors increase, airlift to the island is expected to improve as well. Minister Cooper says that, “come next year, in 2023, we’re expecting the beginning of your new airport at New Bight. The Ministry of Tourism and Aviation’s, Bringing The Bahamas To You, a series of global sales and marketing missions around the world, will feature Cat Island prominently as one of the sixteen island destinations.”
