Recently, Ministry of Tourism executives and other tourism officials rolled out the red carpet to greet the first group of guests arriving from the program’s newest gateway, Houston, Texas.

Director for the Grand Bahama Tourist Office, Betty Bethel, said the Houston market grew greatly with little promotional efforts.

With Grand Bahama’s positioning, the destination will continue to see growth and significant economic development, Bethel added.

For some time, Mexico was the only international destination of choice from Houston.

However, with the introduction of the new direct service, Houston travelers can now fly direct to Freeport, Grand Bahama for a summer vacation of a lifetime, according to Denise Adderley, Director of Sales and Marketing for Blue Diamond Resorts, parent company of Memories Grand Bahama Beach Resort and Casino.

According to VP, Sales & Digital Strategy for Vacation Express Kevin Hernandez, the destination of Grand Bahama is now more accessible to Texan travelers that are ready for a new summer destination.

With the affordability of the international packaged vacation offerings to Grand Bahama, guests can enjoy the ease of travel – arriving in less than three hours.

He added that this year’s program already exceeded last year’s performance.

An attributing factor to this is Sunwing Airlines’ new Boeing 737-800, 189-seat jet aircraft with a 26 per cent increase in seat capacity.

Baltimore, MD, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, Houston, TX, Nashville, TN, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA are continuing increased bookings and repeat travelers.

Additionally, there are four and seven-night rotations from Newark, NJ.

Hernandez said travelers visiting the island on the four-night rotation largely participated in more activities than in other destinations.

Particular excitement was shown for nature-based activities, tours and attractions.

First-time visitor to The Bahamas, Omar Teal from Houston, Texas along with his wife and two of their friends was pleased with the package offered to Texans through Vacation Express.

“It was a deal that I couldn’t turn down,” he said.

Excited for the remaining four days of his trip, Teal added that although he had just landed, all of his expectations were quickly met.

A series of Familiarization Trips will begin in upcoming weeks to further orient Travel Agents with the destination of Grand Bahama.

This drives business and garners further traveler interest in this unique and diverse summer getaway.

The new non-stop services will operate between May and October of this year, with dates varying from one city to the other.

Vacation Express packages include airport transfers and in some cases all-inclusive packages (including meals and drinks).

Vacation package deals to Grand Bahama Island start at $379, including non-stop flight, hotel and taxes.

Customs pre-clearance takes place in Grand Bahama Island and passengers arrive back to their city just like a domestic flight.

The flights depart on a back-to-back basis allowing for four-night packages that leave on various days of the week.

However, if vacationers are interested, eight-night packages can also be arranged.

For more information visit www.bahamas.com/gbiflights or contact local travel agents.