Senior Tourism Execs Gather

The meeting was chaired by BHTA’s Senior Vice President, Robert “Sandy” Sands, and included Joy Jibrilu, Director General of The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, representatives from the executive committee of the BHTA, senior executives from all of the promotion boards; the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), and a cadre of large, small and medium sized hotel properties throughout the destination.

While tourism stakeholders acknowledged that forward bookings were off-pace; the general sentiment was hopeful, if not optimistic, that the pace would accelerate as high season approached, and already-active marketing and promotional efforts were ramping up even further in advance of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the first quarter of 2020.

Presentations by the promotion boards and BMOT aptly illustrated that public and private sector marketing efforts were cohesive in their messaging; heralding the strength and resilience of The Bahamas as efforts to rebuild and restore were active and dynamic in both Grand Bahama and Abaco; and that the majority of islands in the archipelago are ready, willing and able to welcome visitors. In addition collective messaging spoke to the fact that the influx of tourism dollars was an effective and necessary form of aid and relief for the country.

Finally, tourism stakeholders were unified in their acknowledgment that the nation’s economic engine needed to churn at the same pre-Dorian robust rate, and that industry partners should be consistent and aligned in their efforts to maintain their value for money proposition to the benefit of the industry’s sustainability.  

Stakeholders agreed that increased and sustained marketing by the private and public sector would be critical for the destination to recover and regain momentum going into,  and continuing through 2020.