Bridgette King, the Ministryﾹs national firector for the US market, told The Tribune yesterday that marketing and a continuing education programme for strategic partners were key elements in boosting the Bahamasﾹ tourism profile in target markets during 2004. They were also intended to generate increased bookings for resort properties, particularly as competing destinations within the Caribbean looked to develop their product.
The Ministry is banking on its Bahamas.com website to give visitors a thirst for more in relation to this nation and the variety of experiences its different islands can provide, Ms King said, with preliminary figures showing the site had generated more than $250,000 in bookings during the first six weeks of operation.
She added that the website presented the Bahamas with a unique opportunity to speak to the world, distributing information and offering a multi-dimensional view of various Bahamian islands.
To support the launch of its website and new advertising campaign, the Ministry of Tourism has also planned several roadshows in the north-east US in an effort to ensure consumers can see first hand what specials are available in the Bahamas.
Ms King said the shows will also allow the Ministry to export the Bahamasﾹ culture and create an environment where vendors, such as travel agents and tour operators, can get a true taste of its islands, helping them to push the destination.
Moving forward into 2004, along with traditional segments such as diving, boating, sport fishing and weddings, a primary target markets will be the high-end African American tourist, with a special department created within the Ministry of Tourism to support and step up these efforts.
The religious tourism market will also receive major attention during 2004, following the push last year by Prime Minister Perry Christie, with tourism officials dialoguing with meeting planners to bring board meetings, retreats, conventions and other conferences to the Bahamas.
Ms King said the Ministryﾹs primary goal was to minimise the troughs in tourist demand that the Bahamas experienced on a seasonal. Removing the focus from simply bringing in visitor numbers, Ministry officials are instead focusing on selling longer hotel stays and pushing vacation stays during the traditional slow periods.
One of the 28 Bahamas-based vendors at the Caribbean Hotel Associationﾹs Caribbean Marketplace Conference, Tommy Thompson, director of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism in Europe, told The Tribune that branding plays an important part in the marketing initiatives taking place in Europe,. The opportunity to showcase recent resort developments, such as the $300 million Emerald Bay Four Seasons Resort in Exuma, had allowed this nation to sell both the resort and the uniqueness of that particular destination.
Mr Thompson said that currently, some 100,000 persons visit the Bahamas from the European markets, with most coming from the UK. France and Italy were also markets attracted to this nation.
Mr Thompson said his goal was to increase the number of European visitors by 10 per cent over the next three years through increased partnerships with tour operators and travel agents, who were key in driving increased numbers to this destination.
He added that the Bahamas, like Dubai, the Far East and the entire Caribbean region, was one of several destinations within a nine-hour flight from many European countries, making it essential that operators and industry partners were familiar with this nation and comfortable pushing it as the best vacation destination for their clients.
Like many Bahamian vendors, Mr Thompson said the conference was an extremely important tool for attracting more business to the Bahamas.
With all the top European operators in attendance, Caribbean Marketplace provided the perfect forum for tourism officials to meet with partners without using a significant amount of resources or time and promote special tours, such as an excursion coming out of the German market, to all the relevant operators.
By Yolanda Deleveaux, Tribune Business Reporter at the Caribbean Marketplace
Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
