The Bahamas strengthens its role in global tourism policy at UN Tourism meetings in Paraguay
At the end of May, The Bahamas further emphasized its role in international tourism governance by participating in UN Tourism meetings in Asunción, Paraguay. According to an announcement by the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism, the delegation was led by Minister of Tourism Glenys Hanna-Martin, and the program included a forum on women's leadership in tourism on May 28 and the 71st meeting of the UN Tourism Regional Commission for the Americas on May 29, 2026. This is an important political and professional gathering for countries of the American continent because it is where priorities in sustainability, investment, connectivity, innovation, resilience and regional cooperation are aligned. For The Bahamas, a country whose economy is strongly tied to tourism, such meetings are not only a diplomatic obligation but also a space for shaping rules and partnerships that will influence the future development of the sector.
Minister Hanna-Martin's participation also carried additional symbolic weight because, according to the official biography published on the portal of the Bahamian tourism organization, in May 2026 she became the first woman at the head of The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry stated that her trip to Paraguay was her first official international tourism mission since taking over the portfolio. In that context, her appearance at the forum The Future is Female: Shaping the Tourism of Tomorrow connected two themes that are increasingly defining global tourism: inclusive leadership and the need to direct destination development toward long-term sustainable models.
The meeting in Asunción brought together tourism authorities from the region
According to the official UN Tourism website, the 71st Regional Commission for the Americas and the accompanying program on women's leadership were held in Asunción from May 27 to 30, 2026, in cooperation with Paraguay's National Secretariat of Tourism, SENATUR. The Paraguayan institution announced that the main part of the meeting would be held at the CONMEBOL Convention Center and that it would bring together 26 international delegations, including ministers, senior tourism officials, international organizations and private-sector representatives. SENATUR also emphasized that hosting the meeting was an opportunity to strengthen Paraguay's visibility as a regional tourism actor and a destination capable of organizing major international events.
The Regional Commission for the Americas is one of the UN Tourism bodies through which member states consider sectoral priorities and align approaches to common challenges. In the case of this year's meeting, according to the announcement by the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism, discussions focused on sustainability, connectivity, investment, innovation, resilience and strengthening regional cooperation. These topics have special significance for island states and destinations that depend on air and sea transport, major infrastructure investments and the ability to adapt quickly to climate, market and geopolitical disruptions. Within this framework, The Bahamas presented itself as a destination that wants to maintain strong growth, while at the same time directing it toward a more responsible and more resilient tourism model.
The first international mission of the new Minister of Tourism
The Bahamian Ministry of Tourism announced that Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin participated in Paraguay as a featured speaker at the forum dedicated to the role of women in shaping the tourism of the future. In a statement carried by the Ministry, she said that The Bahamas remains committed to international engagement and meaningful cooperation as tourism changes globally. According to her, the meetings in Paraguay provided an opportunity to strengthen relationships, exchange ideas and contribute to discussions that will influence the future direction of the tourism sector. Such a message fits into the broader diplomatic strategy of The Bahamas, which is seeking to position itself not only as a popular holiday destination but also as an active participant in the international dialogue on rules, investments and sustainability in tourism.
Hanna-Martin comes to the tourism portfolio with long political and administrative experience. According to her official biography, since 2002 she has represented the Englerston constituency in the Bahamian Parliament, and she previously held responsibilities in the areas of transport, aviation, education and vocational training. This background is important because tourism policy can increasingly be viewed less and less separately from transport connectivity, workforce education, digital transformation and public infrastructure management. Precisely these areas were among the main topics of the meetings in Paraguay, where delegations discussed how to make tourism more competitive, more resilient and more inclusive.
The Bahamian delegation emphasized innovation and long-term growth
The Bahamian delegation also included Director General of Tourism Latia Duncombe, together with senior tourism officials. The Ministry of Tourism announced that Bahamian representatives participated in a series of meetings and working sessions during the program. In an official statement, Duncombe said that the continuation of The Bahamas' engagement within UN Tourism shows the country's intention to contribute constructively to the international tourism dialogue, while at the same time promoting innovation, sustainability and long-term growth. She particularly emphasized the importance of exchanging ideas on leadership, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and the future of the sector.
For The Bahamas, such an approach is connected with the effort to ensure that tourism growth is based not exclusively on the number of arrivals, but also on the quality of the experience, more balanced benefits for local communities and greater resilience of island destinations. According to official data published in January 2026, The Bahamas recorded a record 12.5 million visitors in 2025, the highest level in the country's history. The Ministry stated that the total number of arrivals increased by 11.4 percent compared with the previous year and that the result was more than 70 percent above the 2019 level. Cruising remained a key driver of growth, but the official announcement also emphasized the importance of air arrivals, the Family Islands and local businesses that depend on the broader tourism value chain.
Global tourism is growing again, but pressures remain
The context of the meeting in Paraguay was marked by the strong global recovery of travel after the pandemic period, but also by new pressures on destinations. According to UN Tourism data from the World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals in 2025 grew by 4 percent, and around 1.52 billion international tourists were recorded worldwide, almost 60 million more than in 2024. These data show that demand for travel remained strong, but at the same time they increase pressure on infrastructure, local communities, natural resources and transport systems. That is why the topics of sustainability, investment and resilience have become central in UN Tourism discussions, especially for destinations located in climate-sensitive areas.
In this respect, The Bahamas is a representative example of an island destination that must align the economic impact of tourism with the need to protect coastal and marine ecosystems. In a recent announcement about the Bahamian Sustainable Islands Challenge program, UN Tourism stated that tourism represents an important economic engine for the country, but also a source of vulnerability when climate and external shocks are taken into account. Precisely for that reason, innovations in ocean conservation, green technology and community-based tourism are increasingly entering the center of the strategies of small island developing states. Bahamian participation in Paraguay is a continuation of that policy because it combines international positioning with practical initiatives that can be applied at the destination level.
Women's leadership as part of a broader sectoral change
The forum The Future is Female: Shaping the Tourism of Tomorrow was not an isolated protocol addition to the meeting, but part of a broader trend in which the role of women in tourism is increasingly viewed as a question of development, productivity and inclusive governance. UN Tourism, in an earlier report on women in tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared with the Paraguayan Ministry of Tourism, stated that women make up 52 percent of the permanent tourism workforce in the region, and in the accommodation and hospitality segments their share rises to 60 percent. The report also emphasized that women make up 69 percent of those enrolled in tourism study programs in the region. These data explain why the discussion on women's leadership in tourism is increasingly linked to education, entrepreneurship, access to financing and the possibility of participating in decision-making.
For The Bahamas, this emphasis gained an additional dimension with the appointment of Glenys Hanna-Martin as head of the Ministry of Tourism. Her appearance in Paraguay took place at a moment when UN Tourism itself is going through a historic leadership change. According to the official announcement by UN Tourism, Shaikha Al Nowais has been confirmed as the organization's new Secretary-General and the first woman in that position, with a mandate beginning in 2026. In this way, the topic of women's leadership did not remain only at the sectoral level, but was also reflected at the top of the institution that guides the global tourism dialogue. In such an environment, the appearance of the Bahamian minister carried political and symbolic weight for the Caribbean region and the broader Americas.
Innovations from Nassau as a basis for the appearance in Paraguay
The Bahamian Ministry of Tourism connected the mission in Paraguay with earlier activities within UN Tourism, especially with the Sustainable Islands Innovation Challenge and Forum program in Nassau. According to the UN Tourism announcement, this challenge was launched to identify and support entrepreneurs offering solutions for island tourism in the areas of ocean conservation, local and community tourism and green technologies. Among the highlighted projects were Bluequest Bahamas in the ocean and sea conservation category, Access Island Guide in the local and community tourism category and Out Island Water Company Recycling Program, which was declared the overall winner of the challenge.
Such initiatives show that international tourism policy increasingly relies on concrete local projects, and not only on declarative strategies. If island destinations want to adapt to climate risks, growing traveler expectations and pressure on resources, solutions are needed that arise through cooperation between the public sector, entrepreneurs, investors and local communities. In Paraguay, The Bahamas was able to show that it is not only participating in discussions on sustainability, but is already developing mechanisms to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in its own tourism system. This is also important for the broader Caribbean region, where small island states share similar challenges, from dependence on international markets to exposure to weather extremes.
Regional cooperation is becoming key to competitiveness
The meeting in Asunción showed that tourism competitiveness can increasingly be built less and less in isolation. Connectivity through air and sea routes, joint promotion, sustainability standards, access to investment and digital tools are increasingly regional issues. According to the announcement by the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism, the Regional Commission for the Americas provided a platform for discussion on priorities that go beyond individual states and require a coordinated approach. For The Bahamas, this means an opportunity to connect its own experiences in managing major tourism growth, cruising, air arrivals and island infrastructure with the experiences of other destinations in the Americas.
By hosting the meeting, Paraguay also sought to strengthen its position in regional tourism. SENATUR emphasized that CAM is one of the relevant UN Tourism bodies because it brings together ministers, senior tourism authorities, international organizations and the private sector. In this way, for several days Asunción became a space where different development models met: Caribbean island economies, South American destinations with an emphasis on culture and nature, and countries seeking to increase the value of tourism through investment, infrastructure and new forms of regional connectivity. In such an environment, the Bahamian delegation appeared with the message that growth must be based on cooperation, innovation and resilience.
Tourism as an economic engine and political responsibility
The record tourism results of The Bahamas confirm the strength of the destination, but at the same time increase the responsibility of public policies. When a country reaches 12.5 million visitors a year, questions of managing transport, the environment, the workforce, investments and local benefits become just as important as marketing visibility. In official announcements, the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism emphasized that future development must be directed toward sustainable growth, infrastructure and expanding the benefits of tourism to communities throughout the archipelago. That is precisely why participation in the UN Tourism meetings in Paraguay is part of a broader process in which the national tourism strategy is connected with international standards and partnerships.
For readers who follow global tourism trends, the Bahamian appearance in Paraguay is important because it shows how tourism diplomacy is changing. Destinations no longer compete only by the number of beaches, hotel rooms or passenger arrivals, but also by the ability to develop credible sustainability policies, include women and local entrepreneurs in development, attract responsible investments and respond to crises. At the meetings in Asunción, The Bahamas sought to emphasize precisely that: that it wants to remain among the world's leading tourism destinations, but also to actively participate in shaping the rules according to which tourism will develop in the coming period.
Sources:
- The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism / Tourism Today – announcement on the participation of Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin and the Bahamian delegation at UN Tourism meetings in Paraguay (link)
- UN Tourism – official page of the 71st Regional Commission for the Americas and the workshop “The Future is Female: Shaping the Tourism of Tomorrow” (link)
- SENATUR Paraguay – announcement of the meeting of the Regional Commission for the Americas in Asunción and information on Paraguay's hosting role (link)
- The Official Website of The Bahamas – official announcement on the record 12.5 million visitors in 2025 (link)
- The Official Website of The Bahamas – biography of Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin and information on her appointment in May 2026 (link)
- UN Tourism – World Tourism Barometer data on international tourist arrivals in 2025 (link)
- UN Tourism – announcement on The Bahamas Sustainable Islands Challenge program and innovations for more resilient tourism in the Caribbean (link)
- UN Tourism – report and announcement on the role of women in tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean (link)