Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, the Hon. Chester Cooper announced in the House of Assembly last week that more than 12 million tourists visited the country in 2025.
According to the December figures released by the Central Bank arrivals were driven by cruise passengers while air arrival slowed. While speaking with ZNS News on Tuesday, Cooper attributed the numbers to the availability of rooms. He said, “we need more rooms. We need more room inventory and I think this is going to boost stopovers for the medium to long term.”
The Minister said there is growth in air arrivals going into 2026 due in part to partnerships with international airlines aim at increasing airlift to the country. “To the end of March our forward bookings are looking extremely strong which means that all things being the same and there not be any major disruptions the first quarter of 2026 is looking to be very strong,” Cooper said.
According to the minister efforts are underway to increase family island tourism. Cooper said, “we have Breeze that’s starting up, it’s a low cost airline and they’re going to be starting very soon. We announced that a day or two ago. And we have American Airlines three times a week starting on Valentine’s Day in Bimini. So we’re continuing to add new routes, additional flights, larger planes on existing routes.”
Mr. Cooper said the tourism ministry will continue to market the country in Canada and respond to market changes.
