Bahamas News
Bahamas must distinguish its tourism product from that of other nations
#Freeport, GB, June 3, 2019 – Bahamas – Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar told Grand Bahamian graduates of the Bahamahost program that The Bahamas has to find a way to distinguish itself from other destinations offering the same product to the same markets.
During graduation ceremonies on Thursday, May 30, 2019, in the ballroom of Grand Lucayan resort, Minister D’Aguilar told the 247 graduates that being able to have The Bahamas stand alone as a first class tourism destination will require them to implement all that they have learned in the Bahamahost program.
“We in the Bahamas boast of beautiful beaches, turquoise seas and year round sunshine,” said Minister D’Aguilar. “The truth is, we have the right to boast. Fifty-four shades of blue and the many great wonders of The Bahamas, cannot be compared to any other land on the planet. We are the magical islands of The Bahamas.
“Our reality check, however, is that every other country in the region boasts – as we do – of having the friendliest people, the same brilliant sunshine, magical waters, and majestic beaches. We in The Bahamas do not have a monopoly on sun, sand and sea.
“Like us, many of the countries in our region have capitalized on these same natural resources to build a tourism-based economy, and these same destinations in our region are giving us stiff competition.”
The Tourism Minister said that what they are realizing at the Ministry of Tourism more each day is that once the gift of the Bahamas is unwrapped by every visitor and they get the full experience of the visit, the value of the gift that’s presented sometimes leaves much to be desired.
He said The Bahamas of the 21st Century must daily rise to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers.
“So, here is the key question of the evening: If the tourist destinations of our region all have sun, sand and sea in abundance, how can we in The Bahamas possibly compete and outpace our competitors,” the Minister asked, challenging the graduates.
He submitted that in order to accomplish that task there are two lanes that must be navigated successfully.
Firstly, he offered that successful tourism must be about the delivery of ‘superb, outstanding, extraordinary, stupendous service.’
“Ladies and gentlemen, I put it to you that the delivery of quality service is a critical area in which we in The Bahamas can compete hands down. How do we attain this lofty reputation for world-class service? Through commitment.
“It takes each of us to make a commitment to deliver quality service on our jobs, each day, to every customer, every time, be they tourist or local.”
Minister D’Aguilar noted that today’s travelers are no longer looking to park themselves in a lounge chair on a beach and chill out in the sun for their entire vacation. He said millennial travelers are a totally different breed, seeking one of a kind, off the beaten path, transformative experiences.
This change in traveler demand, according to the Minister, has placed the Family Islands center stage.
“Today’s visitors are looking for the kind of vacation experiences that are offered right here in Grand Bahama, an island with a great city, with family island charm.”
A second suggestion the Minister made on how The Bahamas can distinguish its tourism product from other destinations is that of ‘entrepreneurship.’
“What are those areas of the Grand Bahama tourism sector that can accommodate new businesses? What entrepreneurial opportunities out there that might add value to the visitor experience? When people travel, they want to take home some memento to remind them of their trip. They’re not looking for the mass-produced, cookie-cutter souvenirs. They’re seeking authentic products, with excellent craftsmanship. Offering authentic products and services must be the goal then.
“Graduates, I invite you to look around you. Observe what is in your environment, your culture, your heritage that you can capitalize on, to create and meet the demand of your visitors.
“Graduates of Bahamahost, you have acquired the skills and the know-how, to develop your personal brand and to deliver outstanding customer service. You are now equipped to take the quality of service that you deliver to the next level.”
Minister D’Aguliar noted that for over 40 years, the tourism industry-training program has maintained a high level of commitment to covering the Islands of The Bahamas with its signature training program, Bahamahost. He pointed out that the program has survived and thrived, preparing at least three generations of tourism and hospitality professionals throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The program, he said, has always sought to cultivate a healthy, national identity, where every citizen promotes and contributes to communal values.
“Graduates, your successful completion of this over 40-hour training program is evidence that you understand the national goal of the Bahamahost Program and that you are fully prepared to return to your work place to give an even higher level of quality service.”
By Andrew Coakley
Release: BIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar told Grand Bahamian graduates of the Bahamahost Program that one of the ways to make The Bahamas’s tourism product stand out from that of other Caribbean countries is to be passionate about it. The Tourism Minister was the keynote speaker during graduation ceremonies for participants of the program on Thursday, May 30, 2019, at Grand Lucayan resort.
1st inerst: Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar, along with Director of Tourism in Grand Bahama, Karen Seymour, enjoy the entertainment that was a part of the graduation ceremony for Bahamahost in Grand Bahama at the Grand Lucayan Ballroom on Thursday, May 30, 2019.
2nd insert: Individuals from each squad of this year’s Bahamahost graduating class who were the top performers of their respective squads, were presented with the Lionel Elliot Awards during graduation ceremonies in Grand Bahama, on Thursday, May 30, 2019. Making the presentations were (in second row) Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar (centre); Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe (second left); Director at the Ministry of Tourism in Grand Bahama, Karen Seymour (right); Ian Ferguson, Director of Training & Education, Ministry of Tourism (second right); and Sandra Russell, General Manager, Human Resources and Training (third right).
BIS Photos/Andrew Miller
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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