Above: the Bahamas (Photo: NPIPB)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

In 1964, the Bahamian Parliament’s Promotion of Tourism Act came into force, which gave birth to the country’s modern Ministry of Tourism.

The act replaced the existing Tourism Development Board with the new Ministry of Tourism and created the position of Tourism Minister.

Now, the Ministry of Tourism is celebrating 50 years of modern tourism promotion in the Bahamas, beginning with a special mass on Tuesday morning.

Today, tourism accounts for more than 60 percent of the country’s economy.

In 2012, the country received more than 1.4 million stopover tourists, the sixth most of any destination, according to data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

The country was approaching that number in 2013 as well, according to recent data.