Bahamas.com: Visitor Arrivals from Germany Up

Top Bahamas Tourism executives recently visited the ITB Berlin Convention, which is the world's largest tourism trade show.

The Islands Of The Bahamas has long been a participant of the forum that attracts hotels, tourist boards, tour operators, system providers, airlines and car rental companies.

Among the Bahamas delegation traveling to ITB Berlin this year were Director General of Tourism Joy Jibrilu, Deputy Director General Ellison 'Tommy' Thompson, Director of Europe Anthony Stuart, officials from Nassau/Paradise Island and the Out Island Promotion Boards, among others.

Director General Jibrilu spoke to the importance of the tourism trade show.

"If you want to be relevant you have got to be present. We are here at The Bahamas booth to let the world know that The Bahamas is indeed open for business and how well we are doing - particularly out of the European market this year," she said.

"We came out of a meeting with one of the top European tour operators and they have seen a 25 percent growth year on year. Not only is it a great time for Europe generally, but in particular Germany."

According to tourism officials, the German visitors are targeted because they tend to spend more time in The Islands Of The Bahamas than the traditional North American visitor.

"We've worked so hard to build up our brand in Europe and the German market, and to see it begin to yield some results that we were wanting is indeed rewarding for all of us," Ms. Jibrilu said.

AJ Saunders of Majestic Tours expressed similar sentiments.

"We've seen a big uptick and we are projecting that to continue. So, we are looking forward to that and making sure that the product is in place and we are making sure that we have the inventory to take care all of the people," he said.

Mr. Saunders said that the German market seems to be attracted to island hopping.

"They really love the Out Islands in general. They love the smaller hotels. They love the remoteness of it and they really love just being away from the stress of life. They really love the Out Islands. I think it's just being away from the stress and the natural beauty."

Mr. Stuart said he believes that the European market will continue to flourish.

"What we will see out of the European market is more growth. We will see a development of new business from some of the East European countries. The interest from those areas has been very strong. The interest has not only been strong from a leisure point of view but from groups, honeymoon, weddings, meetings and incentives and event sports - where people want to participate or attend sporting events that have happened in The Bahamas," he said.

"People want to come to The Bahamas to really experience The Bahamas."