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Written by BIS
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 NASSAU, Bahamas -- In the middle of a recession, 2010 will see an increase of over 400,000 new air-seats bringing a potential visitor spend of an additional $400 million compared to 2009, explained Minister of Tourism Senator the Hon Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace.
During his budget communication in the Senate, Monday, March 8, Mr Vanderpool-Wallace praised the Ministry of Tourism’s team for delivering “the largest annual increase in air seats ever.” These new seats include nonstops to Exuma, Abaco and Eleuthera from the United States and Canada. This significant increase is a direct result of a ‘particular’ marketing strategy adopted in the tourism industry, he said. “You may also recall that we have established as our principal strategy assuring that our proximity to the United States is reflected in the cost and ease of travel to The Bahamas. Thanks to perhaps the best example of private public sector cooperation that we have ever mustered, we created and deployed what is being hailed as the most innovative and successful promotion in Bahamas tourism history, Mr Vanderpool-Wallace said. Campaigns such as “companion fly free” or “2 for 1 airfare” have been “selling like hot cakes,” he revealed. Over an eight-week selling period, approximately 9,000 bookings representing some 35,000-room nights have been generated with the pace of bookings still going very strong, he added. “The pace has been so strong that our joint private/public sector team has agreed to extend the offer throughout the full year of 2010 even though we agreed initially to end the offer on March 3rd.” In the middle of all of this, traffic on Bahamas.com is reaching all time highs with some monthly increases of over 56 per cent since the beginning of our offers, Mr Vanderpool-Wallace said. |
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 Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham will attend the 21st Caricom Heads of Government Intersessional Meeting to be held March 11-12 in Roseau, Dominica.
Caricom Heads are slated to discuss a number of issues pertinent to the region, primarily developments in the aftermath of the Port-au-Prince earthquake in Haiti.
Prime Minister Ingraham will depart Nassau on Wednesday, March 10 and return on Saturday, March 13.
National Security Minister the Hon. Tommy Turnquest will act as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from Wednesday March 10 to Thursday, March 11, and the Hon. Brent Symonette as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance for the remainder of the Prime Minister’s absence.
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Submitted by Rebecca Massey
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 NASSAU, Bahamas -- Welcome back to all the LCIS students, staff and parents who returned from Kampala, Uganda after their recent Community Service trip. This group took part in a unique learning opportunity.
During their 12-day stay in Uganda they worked with at risk children at the Tent Maker’s Academy. Tentmaker’s Academy is a unique name for a unique school. It’s a facility of approximately 150 children in the slums of Kampala, Uganda, an impoverished Banda community. Many students are HIV/AIDS orphans with little food or clothing let alone enough money for school supplies. Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the entire LCIS community the group were able to deliver much needed school supplies, clothing and funds for food for a year for the entire school.
Grade 9 student Samantha Wilson commented on the trip, “Our main goals were to help teach the children, improve the facilities and to deliver all the supplies. I am so grateful for this chance to visit Uganda. Being able to interact with the students at Tentmakers Academy was amazing. What I learnt the most from this trip was how fortunate I am. I have always heard people say to be grateful for what you have. It really hit me most on our first day at the Academy. That day we brought all the tennis and soccer balls to play with the students, and they were all so happy that they had those balls to play with and us the LCIS students to play with them. They were all smiling and genuinely happy. I am glad we were able to impact the lives of the students, the way they have impacted our lives." |
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 FREEPORT, Grand Bahamas — Treasure Bay Casino at Our Lucaya will temporarily close at midnight on Tuesday, March 16 for a system update.
“We’re finishing the system transfer to bring us on-line with the other Treasure Bay properties,” said General Manager Edward Llambias. “This is an important step for the Our Lucaya casino as it will allow us to step up our promotions and bring in new state-of-the-art games for our guests to enjoy.” The casino will reopen its doors at 6pm on Thursday, March 18th. |
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By Khyle Quincy Parker
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 WASHINGTON, DC -- Bahamas Ambassador to the United States Cornelius A Smith was a featured guest on the Washington, DC, radio program “Let’s Get It On” Thursday evening.
He talked about how The Bahamas was responding to changes in the international financial regulatory regime, and how the Caribbean ‘Diaspora’ in the DC area was responding to the crisis in Haiti.
The show, hosted by Warren Powell and sponsored by the National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees, aired online and over a local AM radio station. The program is broadcast throughout the US and in seven countries around the world.
On Financial Services
On the question of how the recent focus of US and other world authorities on offshore financial jurisdictions has affected the financial services industry in The Bahamas, Ambassador Smith pointed out that every offshore financial services centre has been affected “one way or the other”.
“The Bahamas has certainly been affected, but not to that great an extent,” Mr Smith said. “The Bahamas has been involved in the financial services sector since the mid-1950s, so we are a very matured jurisdiction.
“We have always prided ourselves that we were not – and we still are not – a tax haven. |
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