Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, the Hon. Chester Cooper recently shared his optimism about the Grand Bahama economy while visiting the island.

He told ZNS News, “I was intent on making the point of my optimism about the future for Grand Bahama and all of the attributes that Grand Bahama has that’s beneficial for investors local and foreign.”

Cooper also addressed the sale of the Grand Lucayan Resort saying that an announcement will be made when the money is in the bank.  “We’re managing this resort.  We consistently employ more than 200 Bahamians here and we consistently work to drive the occupancy level up.  So notwithstanding we’re not sitting on our hands, the team here is doing a good job at keeping the Grand Lucayan Resort the staple that it is in the community,” he said.

On the Grand Bahama International Airport project, the Minister expects progress to be made soon.  He said, “there’s significant work that’s gone on, that’s going on and in due course we’ll tangible vertical progress.

The Minister said the Afro-Caribbean Marketplace that will be constructed on the former site of the International Bazaar will be a tremendous draw for tourism and will open a lot of doors for trade between The Bahamas and Africa.

Government officials including Minister Cooper were on Grand Bahama to attend Diplomatic Week hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.