Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, the Hon. Chester Cooper appeared on The Rundown talk show with host Clint Watson on Tuesday.  Among the various topics discussed was his ministry’s plans for the enhancement of the tourist experience in country.

He said, “we hope ultimately to be able to create enough of an entertainment buzz Downtown to attract cruise ships to stay later at night or to stay overnight.”

Cooper also spoke to foreign direct investment and the government’s expansion of global relationships to attract investment and source funding.  “We’ve gone beyond the traditional USA, Canada, UK countries and we are building relationships in the Middle East.  As you’ve seen we have gotten funding for some of our key projects namely the North Eleuthera Airport.  We’re building tourism.  We’re getting new investments.  We’ve seen some investments already from the Middle East.  I’ve taken a special interest in this region as we have seen in African.  We’re getting inquiries on a weekly-monthly basis of new entities.”

On aviation the Minister revealed that the negotiations are underway with Emirates and Qatar Airlines for flights to The Bahamas.  “We are seeing new airlift by Bahamasair into Grand Bahama from Florida going to be announced soon.  Bahamasair is doing an inaugural flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica,” Cooper said.

To date the Davis Administration has attracted approximately $10 billion in foreign direct investments and has begin the work of upgrading several airports around the country.

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