Member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama, the Hon. Kwasi Thompson voiced concern about the decrease in stopover visitors in The Bahamas in the House of Assembly on Wednesday. He also highlighted that overall arrivals for Grand Bahama was down 27.8% according to the latest report from the Central Bank.

Thompson criticized the time spent debating the Executive Entities Amendment Bill, 2025, and the Banks and Trust Companies Regulation Amendment Bill, 2025 that he deemed not urgent considering the challenges facing Bahamians.

He said, “Bahamians are grappling with soaring food prices, high unemployment, and widening inequality. These bills, unfortunately will not put food on the table. They will not help pay tuition. They will not help keep the electricity on.”

In response, Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, the Hon. Chester Cooper revealed that stopover arrivals in Grand Bahama has increased by 11.6% in the first quarter of 2025. During that same period stopover arrivals decreased by 4% across the country.

According to Cooper these numbers make Grand Bahama the fastest growing for stopover arrivals. He said, “as it relates to cruise the numbers are down as a result of Margaritaville adjusting their business model. However, when Carnival Cruise Line open in July, Celebration Key, Grand Bahama is going to be the fastest growing island in cruise too.”

Thompson also spoke about the difficulty in doing business in the country. Cooper responded saying, “first of all the Member has been responsible for these matters for perhaps four and a half years in the FNM administration that he says is the answer and is the solution. Secondly, he has been the minister responsible for Grand Bahama, I believe, for the entirety of the four and a half years but I applaud his brilliance now that he is in opposition. But they have no credibility on these issues.”

Both the Executive Entities Amendment Bill, 2025, and the Banks and Trust Companies Regulation Amendment Bill, 2025 were passed.