Grand Bahama Island - The Commissioner of St. Lucie County, Florida, Doug Coward and public relations and marketing executives visited Grand Bahama as guests of the Ministry of Tourism, as they seek to build business and tourism partnerships between St. Lucie County and Grand Bahama Island. Pictured from left are CEO, Comet Creative a public relations and marketing company based in Florida, George Byfield; President Comet Creative, Erica Byfield; Mr. Coward; Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of The Prime Minister, Senator the Hon. Katherine Smith who welcomed the Commissioner and his team during a courtesy call at her office and representatives from the Ministry of Tourism Faye Outlaw and Terrance Roberts. Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

St. Lucie County, Florida — Vacation packages and sporting events between St. Lucie County and Grand Bahama Island could be available as soon as spring 2009.

Representatives from Grand Bahama Island signed a non-binding agreement with the county to formalize a partnership, which, at this point doesn’t include any obligations for either government.

In an effort to boost tourism to both locations, officials want to offer vacation packages between the two locations.

Packages could include trips that pair New York Mets spring training events with a free flight to the Bahamas. Boat races, golf tournaments and motorcycle events are among other ideas being tossed around. Officials don’t know if a plan could be in place as soon as the upcoming spring training schedule, but County Commissioner Doug Coward said he hopes to bring the issue before the county board within a month to facilitate future planning.

Coward, Assistant County Administrator Faye Outlaw and Comet Creative representatives went to the island last week and met with public and private officials. They returned excited about the possibility of mutually beneficial tourism possibilities.

“I was enthusiastic going there and the level of enthusiasm that we got back exceeded my wildest expectations,” Coward said. “They were very excited about essentially formalizing a partnership with St. Lucie County on tourism.”

The meeting was the third between the two groups over the past year and the first outside of St. Lucie County.

The county spent $980 total on the trip for four round-trip flights paid for by the county bed tax. The rooms and meals were complimentary of various potential partners similar to how the rooms and meals for Bahamian officials were complimentary when they visited St. Lucie County.

With the economy struggling, the county is trying to maximize its ability to bring in dollars from outside the area.

St. Lucie County has access to the country’s largest market through hosting the New York Mets for spring training. By sharing advertising and marketing dollars with the Bahamas, the county could have a greater ability to draw New Yorkers to the Treasure Coast.

“There will also be a benefit financially if we’re both sharing expenses related to marketing,” Coward said.

Coward said he would like to expand the project so that businesses from both areas can benefit from discounts provided to one another.

“If there’s opportunities for us to put together an aggressive package with local businesses whereby they can get discounted room nights and maybe even discounted different retail facilities, there may be a way to bring folks into this area to enjoy St. Lucie County and spend money that they would have been spending in another part of the state,” Coward said.