NASSAU, Bahamas, March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — While the global economy lurches unpredictably, it seems something rather interesting is happening in the tropical Bahamas.

The longtime Caribbean holiday haunt is experiencing a mini-boom, with international billion-dollar developments and business investments rapidly moving forward.

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BEMU contributions to health and pension plans and a possible hike in the price of building permits top the news at the start of the week in The Bahamas. Watch the ZNS business news segment here.
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Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Perry Christie said March 17 that Bahamians must still work hard at bridging their differences–political and otherwise–and be able to recognize when to “let go and come together” in a national context.

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Sky-filling fireworks were cascading down from the highest rooftop at Baha Mar, at $3.5 billion said to be the western hemisphere’s largest current resort project, and the most ambitious ever built in the Bahamas—Atlantis, visible across the water, notwithstanding. Massive pyrotechnic flower blooms and vivid multi-color spikes and streamers burst seemingly right on top of us, so close that occasional warm ashes hit our faces and embedded themselves in our hair.

I turned to my friend The World Traveler, shoulder-to-shoulder with me in the jostling crowd and shouted, “This is so astounding!!”

She shouted back, “This is so Chinese!”

This is an excerpt from Forbes.com as it appeared on March 19, 2013. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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Simplifying government business through offering online payment services would enhance the ease of doing business in The Bahamas, according to Michael Halkitis, State Minister for Finance.

“Our value proposition must be competitive globally in order to spur economic growth locally. By making our information available and accessible, by modernizing processes, and having rules and regulations that are fair and apply to all, our customers can improve their productivity,” said the Minister during an address to the Rotary Club March 14.

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Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said in Parliament last week that the Ministry is marketing The Bahamas as a whole and is targeting niche markets through sports and religious tourism events. Watch a ZNS news report here.
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Top women golfers have visited The Bahamas ahead of the upcoming LPGA Golf Tournament in May.

The Ministry of Tourism, in conjunction with Carnival Cruise Lines, has held a Fun Run for Monarch of the Seas crew.
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The shopping facilities at LPIA were among the criteria that scored well in the ASQ passenger surveys. (Impact Images & Design)

Upgraded airport facilities and changes to Nassau Airport Development Co’s (NAD) staffing structure have led to higher passenger satisfaction scores at the country’s major gateway, according to the airport operator.

Fourth quarter Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey results at Lynden Pindling International Airport show an increase in the Overall Satisfaction category from 3.91 in Q3 2012 to 4.21 in Q4 2012. The rating is on a five-point scale.

NAD credits the uptick in scores to the fact that more than 80 per cent of LPIA’s users now have an arrivals and departures experience in new facilities.

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TORONTO, March 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Yesterday, through Scotiabank’s global philanthropic program, Bright Future, the Bank announced a pledge of $1 million to support the Caribbean-SickKids Paediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Project. These funds will be used to support the project’s telemedicine programs in Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and The Bahamas.

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