National

The Ups and Downs of the 2023 Economy

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The economy certainly saw its ups and downs this year, from record-high tourist arrivals to climbing gas prices.

Published

12 months ago

December 28, 2023

Marlena Leonard

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The economy certainly saw its ups and downs this year, from record-high tourist arrivals to climbing gas prices.

In May, the new $300 million Nassau Cruise Port officially opened, and by September, Operations Manager Marques Williams was sharing large numbers.

And those high numbers were mirrored across the country, with Tourism, Investments and Aviation Minister, Chester Cooper saying we were far ahead of our banner year for tourism, 2019.

However, there were also hard times for many Bahamians this summer juggling gas prices rising to over six dollars and the increase many were reporting seeing in their power bills.

At the time John Rolle, Governor of the Central Bank said the increase could impact how quickly inflation subsides.

Still, the Davis administration remains hopeful. Last month, Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis shared there was an increase in the IMF’s projection for the Bahamian economy’s growth in the next year, changing their initial assessment of 1.8 percent projected growth to a projected growth of 2.3 percent.