Seeking new and ingenious ways of attracting more tourists to the island, tourism industry leaders on Grand Bahama are now focusing their attention on the lucrative opportunities of the ‘group travel’ market.
The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) recently hosted a Group Travel Task Force workshop on Grand Bahama where several individuals representing suppliers from all aspects of tourism on the island united to find ways to capitalize on the opportunities present in the group travel market.
Headed by MOT Group Travel Director James Malcolm, travel partners on Grand Bahama are now seeking to position the island to becoming a group-friendly destination. The goal is to take advantage of the convention tax waiver for United States-based companies The Bahamas is now privy to with the Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA).
MOT’s Business Development Director Terrance Roberts said the industry is at a point where it needs to continually grow in order to meet the goals of increased occupancy levels in the hotel sector.
Mr. Roberts said The Bahamas has been recognised as one of the favourite tourism destination for meetings outside the United States, the industry’s number one customer.
He noted any group of 15 or more people can come to Grand Bahama, whether they be incentive groups, religious groups, business groups, or groups meeting outside the U.S.
“That is most exciting for us and we realise that in the groups and meetings business, you can get more food and beverage opportunities and it is a much wider use of the available facilities,” Mr. Roberts said. “Then you have to look at the things necessary to attract that business. A lot of them want to be transported to and from the airport by bus. They want to do tours so that they can see more of the island.”
Mr. Roberts explained that the ‘Group Travel’ aspect of tourism is a combined effort, and that the Ministry of Tourism’s role is to promote the destination. In fact, he said the people in the hotel and tour industries provide the product.
“We can provide them with the transportation in the way they want to. We now have nice air-conditioned buses that can take them to and from the airport as well as provide them with great tours,” he said. “We have enough venues on the beach to provide them with great beach activities. The shopping at the Bazaar and the Port Lucaya Marketplace is ideal and well suited to handle large numbers of people.”
National Sales Manager Kay Evans has a great deal of responsibility for luring group travel visitors to Grand Bahama. Having placed her focus on the island for the past three years, Mrs. Evans said groups have come to Grand Bahama as a direct result of familiarization trips.
As an MOT representative in Arlington, Virginia, Mrs. Evans said she has observed a significant increase in group travel to Grand Bahama over the years. However, she said the Ministry is still faced with the challenge of getting non-stop services into the island.
“What I try to do to generate group booking for Grand Bahama is to host four meeting planners’ fam trips a year,” she said. “I find that talking to clients and showing them presentations and brochures is okay, but there is nothing like coming to the destination because most meeting planners really want to get a taste of the destination and get a feel of the people.”
Nevertheless, she said what is going to keep people coming back to the destination is good services and great attitudes. Based on the feedback she has gotten from evaluations done on fam trips, the most positive things revealed has been the friendliness of the people and the destination itself.
“In spite of the fact that we had just gotten through a major storm, they were quite surprised at the level of service that they received at the hotel,” she said. “The Freeport Lucaya area I believe is the ideal destination for groups and incentives because the hotel is great, it is on the beach, offers everything meeting planners are looking for and it is right across the street from the Lucaya Marketplace.”
Our Lucaya Public Relations Director Ernestine Moxyz said that the hotel property is fully pursuing the group travel market. The Sheraton, she said, is more family-oriented while the Westin has been designed for the more upscale, corporate meeting and incentive market.
“Now that Government has tax incentives for these business houses that hold their meetings in The Bahamas, it has become a lucrative market and field to pursue,” Ms. Moxyz said. “It benefits everyone because with the hotel and groups like that, you have higher revenue because the rates are higher, higher occupancy and as a result there is more money that gets to merchants across the street in the Marketplace and the straw vendors. You are targeting people with higher disposable income.”
Hosea Ferguson, general manager of Expert Travel and Tour Ltd., said the group travel aspect of tourism is very important, adding that the expenditure is much greater than the ordinary visitor.
Mr. Ferguson said people in the tourism industry must continue to place sufficient emphasis on this valuable product, as the benefits derived will be enormous.
By LISA S. KING, Freeport News Reporter
