Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe leads a delegation to London, England for World Travel Market

LONDON, England - The Bahamas is looking to stand out among nearly 200 countries that are all seeking a greater share of the United Kingdom and European markets at World Travel Market (WTM) in London.

The Islands of The Bahamas boasts a full team of exhibitors representing various destinations and hotel properties throughout the country including: Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (BMOT), Baha Mar, Grand Bahama Island Promotion Board, Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board and Tiamo Resort in Andros among others.

The goal is to strengthen ties with travel partners and tour operators in the European Market and increase traffic to the destination, with Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe leading the charge.

“It is important to come to the World Travel Market because you get a sense of where the competition is. We have to appreciate that The Bahamas is not in the game alone, and there are countries all over the globe that are now seeking that tourist dollar,” the minister said.

Minister Wilchcombe said the tourism delegation will attend several meetings and conferences during the four-day event in hopes of increasing airlift to The Islands of The Bahamas from Europe and UK, whose economies continue to strengthen.

“We are looking at the new trends in the market that show more and more Europeans are taking longer vacations, and discussing how we can get more of that business. We will spend a lot of time talking to competitors and also to potential clients. These are important meetings that are taking place this week,” he said.

“We are now aggressively going after this market. It’s a viable and strong market and we need more of it. We need more flights from British Airways, we need more flights from Virgin Atlantic, we need all the airlines we can get bringing business to The Bahamas.”

WTM is described as “a vibrant must attend business-to-business event presenting a diverse range of destinations and industry sectors to UK and international travel professionals. It is a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business.”

Tourism Director General Joy Jibrilu said the number of competitors should be an eye-opener for Bahamians who may not understand the significance of the slogan “Tourism is everyone’s business.”

“This trade show proves how competitive the tourism industry it is. We are competing with the world. We are competing with major players in the industry. Tourism is the cornerstone of our economy and it is time for everyone back home to take it more seriously. This is the message we want to send to Bahamians,” Jibrilu said.

“You have to look at it in regions now. You have Latin America, you have Europe, you have the Middle East and there is Africa, everyone is looking for business from the strong economies. We must make sure that we get back to our position as leaders in the tourism industry,” said Jibrilu.

WTM is the leading global event for the travel industry hosting a total of 183 countries, and more than 75,500 trade visitors.