Only one Bahamas Tourism Office left in U.S.
Tourism officials will have perhaps $600,000 per year to redeploy in its marketing strategy with the closure of its New York City tourism office, marking the end of an era for the Ministry.
The doors to that office closed for the last time on February 28, though the decision to close was made about four years ago, Director-General of the Ministry of Tourism David Johnson said.
There is one tourism office left in the United States, but the 50-year old model of a heavy physical presence in target US population centers is over.
The advent of the internet ushered in a marketing paradigm shift for many industries and businesses, and the Ministry of Tourism was no exception. The result of the new model, according to Johnson, was that the New York office had not attracted customers to its premises, neither in person nor by phone, for some time.
The Bahamas operated tourism offices in a number of major metropolitan areas in the past, including Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago.
