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