Speed Week organizers and sponsors are pictured at the Arawak Cay event site. (Photos: Derek Smith/BIS)

Nassau, Bahamas - The gathering of 45 racing cars worth millions of dollars at Bahamas Speed Week Revival will assist The Bahamas in building its tourism brand and achieving long-term economic development goals, Minister of Tourism and Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said days before the start of Bahamas Speed Week. 

Race organizers and sponsors on Monday released final plans for the much-anticipated event, which will take place November 30 – December 4 in Nassau and Paradise Island.  

“We in the Ministry of Tourism focus on tourism as an economic development tool, and there is no question that when we started looking at this, it made all the sense in the world for us to look at it in terms of the long-term development that we are seeking to do in the Bahamas,” Minister Vanderpool-Wallace said.  

Minister Vanderpool-Wallace said branding is important in ensuring that people buy the Bahamas product and have confidence in the Bahamas.  He was certain that the return of this event, which has not been held for more than 40 years, will help with the branding of The Bahamas.  He also pointed out that the Ministry of Tourism’s Sports Tourism unit has done a remarkable job in associating the country with sporting events and activities that would further enhance The Bahamas’ reputation.  

Minister of Tourism and Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and Speed Week Director Brendan Foulkes display 007 license plates that will be signed by Sir Sean Connery and auctioned off at the Speed Week Gala Ball.

“The embrace (of Bahamas Speed Week) was immediate because we could see instantly that this would add immensely to what people would think about The Bahamas,” Minister Vanderpool-Wallace said.  “You know and I know that if you go around the world and look at the places where they have these kinds of events, they are the places people feel quite comfortable going to and spending good sums of money. So there is no doubt whatsoever that this was going to be something that would add immensely to us.”  

Minister Vanderpool-Wallace hoped that Speed Week would become a model for other sports tourism projects. The formula, he said, begins with a group of people who come together around a sport or activity about which they are passionate. They then go out and get sponsors and other resources to make their event a reality.  

The Ministry of Tourism alone could not have achieved what the Speed Week organizers achieved in setting the stage for the event, Minister Vanderpool-Wallace said.  

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Charles Maynard pointed out that Speed Week organizers were very well prepared for the event. He said the group approached him more than a year earlier about their plans, and several government agencies responded favorably to them.  

“The spirit of cooperation is something that I have never seen in any one single project in the history of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas,” he said.  

Minister Maynard said there was considerable input and effort from the Department of Immigration, the Department of Customs and the Ministries of Public Works, Tourism and National Security.  

“From our perspective, I think that we spared no resource to ensure that our ministry works closely with them,” he said. “We had probably about 100 meetings over the last year and a half.”  

In addition to The Bahamas, organizers expect to draw Bahamas Speed Week spectators from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.