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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2024
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Cooper: Show national pride in tourism sector By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
t 5PVSJTN OVNCFST ATUSPOH EFTQJUF OFHBUJWF QVCMJDJUZ THE Ministry of Tour- t "JS BSSJWBMT VQ JO ism Investments and Aviation launched its +BOVBSZ TBZT $PPQFS “Tourism is Everyone’s Business” domestic campaign yesterday which aims to educate the public on the importance of the country’s largest industry Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said the tourism industry employs 60 percent of the Bahamian population and accounts for 50 percent of GDP. He said that the industry has a “positive impact” on every Bahamian and called for a “re-awakening of national pride” in the sector.
He said: “Tourism positively impacts every single person in The Bahamas and Tourism is indeed Everybody’s Business. “And the time has come for a re-awakening of national pride in our number one industry, an enterprise which we as a nation have built with our very own hands.” He said that the ministry will be launching a media campaign over the coming weeks that will see officials make guest appearances on
local television shows, tv, social media and newspaper ads as well as billboard placements. Stakeholder meetings for taxi drivers and vendors on New Providence and the Family Islands will also be conducted. Mr Cooper maintained that January tourism numbers remain strong despite of the negative publicity the country has been experiencing in the international press.
He said the January hotel occupancy rate was 76.8 percent and air arrivals were up by 13.3 percent overall. “I can reveal that in January, occupancy at the major large hotels in New Providence and Paradise Island showed a great performance, with a hotel occupancy rate of 76.8 percent in the first month of 2024, up from January 2023,” said Mr Cooper. “The large Nassau-Paradise Island hotels have not only experienced an increase in Average Daily Rate (ADR) and room revenue but have also surpassed the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, setting a new benchmark for success.
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DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER CHESTER COOPER
Parking, access and occupancy among concerns over project By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net NEIGHBOURS of a proposed western condo development raised concerns at Department of Physical Planning public hearing last night. The developers of the Neveah Group Enterprises’ Palazzo Vista Del Mar project - to be located on a 21,000 square foot site south of Da Plantation Bar and Grill off West Bay Street fielded questions about parking, road access and occupancy expectations from concerned residents. The luxury condo project will feature a total of 20 units and nearby residents were concerned if the 30 parking spots
t %FWFMPQFST TBZ QBSLJOH NPSF UIBO FOPVHI t TR GU TJUF GPS DPOEP EFWFMPQNFOU t /FJHICPVST XBSZ PG VTF BT "JS#/# TJUFT allocated for the development were sufficient. Mr Pratt, who delivered the architectural plans on behalf of the group, said the parking spaces allocated were “more than enough” as each unit was assigned one and a half parking spaces. He maintained it was a standard amount of parking spaces per unit and that parking will be on the ground floor and it is not
possible to include a lower parking level in the design. He said: “Well, we have 30 parking spots allocated and it’s more than enough. So a unit normally has one and a half parking space per unit. “So we have adequate parking without having to go down another level of parking and I don’t see it possible to do another level of parking because we get to look at drainage and we don’t want to put a
PALAZZO VISTA DEL MAR sump pump concept there, that’d be hazardous. “So we have parking on the whole lower floor. That’s why we didn’t put
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Caribbean’s First BeAlert App Promises Safety A BAHAMIAN company has launched a new emergency response app. BahamasEvac Services yesterday announced the launch of the BeAlert app, which the company says is “a groundbreaking development in emergency response technology”. Described as the first of its kind in the Caribbean, the app is said to be “a significant advancement in safety and preparedness”. Anthiniqueko Gibson, CEO and founder of BahamasEvac, said: “We are proud to introduce BeAlert to the Caribbean community and now to visitors ofthe Caribbean as well. This app is more than
a technological achievement; it’s a promise of safety and rapid response when it matters most.” He added: “We know firsthand the difficulties that can arise when navigating the medical system especially in emergencies where remote locations are
involved. Our years in the field have inspired us to create a solution that has been designed to revolutionise emergency services across the region and significantly reduce response time.” The company says that the app helps users to be
located quickly and accurately in an emergency. It also offers “immediate access” to “professionals from the medical/security field” and a “comprehensive medical network”. The company said: “With the simple press of a button, BeAlert streamlines the care process, reducing stress for individuals and their families by assisting them through navigating critical next steps.” For more information, visit www.bahamasevac. com or http://www.bealertcaribbean.com, or follow BahamasEvac Services on Facebook at evac.nassau.