LONDON, England: A magazine article about swimming pigs, dancing dolphins, world-class golf courses and the hospitable people of The Bahamas caught the attention of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), and was awarded Best Consumer Feature at World Travel Market (WTM) in London.

UK Travel Journalist Peter Ellegard wrote about The Bahamas’ Animal Magic in his four-page article in the UK high-end golf, travel and lifestyle magazine Great Golf, where he documented his experiences in Nassau, Freeport, Abaco and The Exumas.

“As journalists we play a role as ambassadors. We are out to find out about the countries we visit, and then write about them for our readers. We have an important job to encourage people to visit these places and to let them know what’s there,” said the freelance travel writer.

Ellegard was recognized at the CTO Caribbean Travel Journalism Awards that took place during WTM’s week of activities. He was also nominated for two other articles on The Bahamas, but Animal Magic was the one that won the judges over.

“It was [because of] the swimming pigs, undoubtedly. That was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done. I love doing unusual things and it was surreal and beautiful. It was really magical and the feedback from readers was outstanding,” Ellegard said.

The article was a hit with UK readers who Ellegard says are fascinated with the attraction found only in The Bahamas.

According to the travel writer, The Islands of The Bahamas received lots of exposure from his article that was published back in April.

Great Golf magazine has over 100,000 readers who are based mainly in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

“When going to a destination I want to see the golf courses, of course, but I also want to experience the destination, especially anything unique and unusual. That’s what the readers enjoy as well,” said Ellegard.

“The quality of golf there [in The Bahamas] now is really up there with the best in the Caribbean. I wanted to go there to experience the golf, but also to experience the other elements of the island, and I heard about the swimming pigs so I wanted to try that. To combine the two activities was just a fabulous experience.”

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism hosts a booth at WTM and is looking to increase the number of visitors from the UK and European markets. Senior Tourism officials are pleased with the article, which will hopefully entice more Europeans to the Islands of The Bahamas.

To see the web version of the article visit the URL below:

http://www.greatgolfmagazine.co.uk/articles/golf-travel-holiday-bahamas-swimming-with-pigs-great-golf-magazine