Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, the Hon. Chester Cooper is encouraging Bahamians to invest in the tourism industry as the ministry tries to increase the amount of money spent by cruise passengers.
Cooper told reporters, “one of the main complaints from guests is that there’s not enough to do. So the money is there to be made. We want to increase the spend. The numbers are here. We’re getting the volume. Now we just need to do what we need to do to create more opportunities for them to spend.”
The minister also spoke about the progress being made in the revitalization of Bay Street. He said, “we’re making steady progress on the downtown revitalization. We are in the process of mobilizing resources for an RFP (Request For Proposal) for the development of some of the vacant properties. You know we’ve demolished many of the buildings and many of them are now vacant. We’re gonna be actively turning them into green spaces, very lush green spaces. We had Bites On Bay the other day out at Elizabeth. We’re creating energy, buzz on Bay Street to ensure that people understand the rhythm and vitality of Bay Street and bringing back that old charm. So we want new development that is consistent with the architecture, the culture, the heritage of downtown Nassau.”
