In just over four years, the Davis administration spent $74.4 million on travel, dwarfing the $38.6 million expended by the Minnis administration during its four and a half years in office.
Figures provided by the government show that $11.8 million was spent on travel and subsistence in the 2021/2022 fiscal year; $18.7 million in the 2022/2023 fiscal year; $17.5 million in the 2023/2024 fiscal year; and $17.2 million in the 2024/2025 fiscal year.
The travel outlay for the 2024/2025 fiscal year went almost $5 million over budget. The Davis administration initially budgeted $12.5 million for this purpose in the 2024/2025 fiscal year, but according to government data, it ended up spending $17.2 on travel and subsistence.
For the current fiscal year (2025/2026), the Davis administration has estimated it will spend $15,338,474 on travel and subsistence.
From July 2025 to December 2025, $9.2 million was already spent on travel, according to the government’s Twelve Months Report on Budgetary Performance for the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
A tally of the travel expenditure up to December 2025 amounts to $74.4 million.
However, a portion of the $11.8 million expended on travel in the 2021/2022 fiscal year was spent during the last two and a half months of the Minnis administration — July 1 to September 15, 2021. The last general election was held on September 16 of that year.
It also must be pointed out that some of the Minnis administration’s time in office encompassed the COVID-19 pandemic, which either halted or significantly slowed air traffic.
The Free National Movement (FNM) has frequently assailed Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis for the costs borne from his administration’s frequent international travels.
Last year, Davis hit back at the criticism, saying the benefits derived from these trips outweigh the costs.
“There has been considerable discussion about the costs of travel,” Davis said in March 2025, during debate on the mid-year budget in the House of Assembly.
“Let me be clear: the benefits gained by travel have far, far exceeded the costs. The successful promotion of our country, the strategic partnerships and investments, the advocacy and coalition-building — these have already justified the costs of travel many times over, not to mention the benefits which will continue to accrue.
“Record-breaking visitor numbers, new airlift, the removal of our country from the blacklist, record investment in the pipeline, including $1.5 billion in Grand Bahama alone.”
Davis also said he is not the only one who travels.
“I think it’s important for Bahamians to know that many of those who travel are young Bahamian experts serving their country, for whom the professional development, exposure, and networking with colleagues are invaluable,” he said.
“Investing in the next generation of policymakers is, in turn, surely indispensable to us as well.
“In 2025, mitigating risks and leveraging opportunities require outreach, collaboration, and strategic partnerships.
“I encourage the members opposite to consider that their attacks on this issue may reflect how they view their political standing, rather than any thoughtful consideration of the matter. They spent millions on travel, you know.
“They may want to reflect on their administration’s failure to bring in any significant investment during their term and possibly connect some dots.”
Davis has touted his attendance at COP (Conference of the Parties) events to fight for climate action. But critics say this has not translated into any meaningful progress or funding that has directly benefited The Bahamas.
The Davis administration has also not accounted for the costs associated with the prime minister’s attendance of King Charles III’s coronation in 2023.
Then-Governor General Sir C. A. Smith and his wife, Clara; Davis and his wife, Ann Marie; Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell and former Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling were among the Bahamian delegation in London.
According to social media posts at the time, the Bahamian delegation to London included quite a few Bahamians connected to the government and the Progressive Liberal Party.
Relatives and friends of the prime minister and his wife, including some of their children, were also on the trip, though it is unclear who paid for what.
Multiple individuals from the prime minister’s office were also in London, including Director of Communications Latrae Rahming; then-Press Secretary Clint Watson; consultant on the orange economy Ian Poitier; and an advisor to the prime minister, Kevin Simmons, who is also Davis’ close friend.
Opposition Leader Michael Pintard and his wife also traveled to London at the invitation of the prime minister.
