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