UN Tourism Bahamas Sustainable Island Challenge

Tourism plays a major role in the Bahamian economy, with a record-breaking 11,2 million international visitors in 2024. The sector accounts for an estimated 50% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and directly and indirectly employs nearly 70% of the Bahamian workforce¹. This heavy reliance on tourism makes the sector a key driver of the country's economic growth, providing a stable source of foreign exchange and enabling investments in infrastructure, hotels, and services.

However, as an archipelago of about 700 islands and over 2,000 cays spread across the Atlantic Ocean, the Bahamas has seen varying tourism trends, with significant challenges due to external factors like climate change and mass tourism. 

Tourism has become the main economic activity, not only for the Bahamas but for many islands around the world, creating much-needed job opportunities and bringing in important income and foreign exchange earnings. The special geographical situation and their immense natural and cultural richness make islands unique for visitors, but at the same time, confront them with a number of challenges and vulnerabilities. 

Therefore, this Challenge seeks to engage entrepreneurs and stakeholders from the Bahamas who can contribute to the sustainable management of coastal areas and marine life, enhance the well-being of local communities, and develop green technologies to benefit both Bahamians and visitors. Through this call, we aim to identify and support those who play a pivotal role in strengthening the resilience of the islands’ tourism ecosystem, including connectivity, infrastructure and transportation. 

Selected finalists will be invited to pitch their solutions in the Bahamas at the UN Tourism Tech Adventures, and benefit from the UN Tourism Innovation Network, including potential access to finance, pilot projects, and global visibility. 

By highlighting the transformative potential of the Bahamas as a Small Island State this local challenge aims to bring together public and private sector stakeholders to accelerate economic growth, enhance global connectivity, improve tourism infrastructure, and promote positive social change through innovative, sustainable, and community-focused practices. The awards aim to:

• Promote the generation of innovations for the recovery of the sector through new business models and technologies;
• Strengthen the Bahamas' positioning in the global tourism innovation landscape;
• Empower local communities via creative and eco-friendly tourism practices;
• Promote sustainability and cultural preservation across the family islands;
• Support entrepreneurs who improve local tourism services and tourism management in a sustainable way

The purpose of the challenge is to capture particularly the attention of entrepreneurs from across the tourism value chain to facilitate innovative and smart solutions related to the complex challenges the tourism sector of the Bahamas.

Startups, Scaleups, MSMEs, and innovative projects are invited to participate if meeting the following criteria:

• Are innovative/disruptive in nature and provide value-added and sustainable solutions for the tourism sector of the Bahamas;
• Harnessing the impact of new technologies, especially within the context of blue and green economies,
• Offer alternative and complementary business models to harness the economic impact of tourism in island destinations;
• Be scalable: to have potential for international growth and potential to be applied in island destinations,
• Have a minimum viable product or an idea that is ready to be developed and funded;
• Emphasize the promotion of digitalization, innovation in environmental preservation and impact on local communities,
• All ways of innovation are welcome: new methods, processes, governance models, social impact initiatives, and technologies.

_{1. https://www.bahamasmission.ch/the-bahamian-economy/}