Emirates has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahamas to
promote tourism to the Caribbean archipelago.
The airline and Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism will
work on joint initiatives designed to boost visitor traffic into
the islands from key markets across Emirates’ network.
“We are pleased
to collaborate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahamas
in supporting its goals to boost the nation’s tourism economy,”
said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates
Group Chairman and Chief Executive. “Through our partnerships with United and Air Canada, we look
forward to playing a key role in promoting Bahamas as a key
leisure destination. Our global customers from across our network
can enjoy Emirates’ services to our points in North America and
benefit from enhanced connectivity and access to the islands.”
Spread across 16 major islands, Bahamas boasts
more than 100,000 sq. miles of the world’s clearest ocean. Its
coveted beaches and pristine shorelines make Bahamas one of
the most popular tourism destinations in the Caribbean, offering a
rich mix of leisure and cultural activities for visitors.
Under the MOU, both parties will partner on joint
promotional campaigns to benefit the airline and boost tourist
arrivals into Bahamas, by showcasing the destination’s appeal
to visitors and holiday-makers.
The agreement will see also
marketing activities, including media and trade familiarization
trips in Q1 2023, and the development of
tailor-made tour packages, through Emirates
Holidays.
Both parties have also agreed to explore
opportunities to collaborate on joint advertising campaigns to
promote the West Indies destination.
“Tourism is the lifeblood of
our nation’s economy and, by growing visitor arrivals to our
tropical island paradise, we hope to achieve our goals of
stimulating the tourism economy and providing impetus to the
business climate,” said Tony Joudi, Ambassador of Bahamas to the
UAE and State of Qatar. “Emirates is a facilitator of global connectivity
and links the east with the west and we look forward to working
closely with the airline to help us achieve our tourism targets.
Our country has made significant investments in infrastructure
to accommodate the anticipated boom in tourism. On behalf of the
Government of Bahamas and the nation’s people, we look forward
to organising a familiarisation trip early this year for
influencers and media to experience first-hand the best of our
nation’s offerings and highlight it as a top tourist destination
to their audiences.”
Emirates currently flies to 12 points in the US in
addition to Toronto. The airline’s customers can fly to US destinations such as
Houston (IAH), Newark (EWR) and Chicago (ORD) before connecting to Nassau
on interline flights with United.
Travellers can
also fly to Bahamas via Toronto with Canada’s national
carrier Air Canada, which
activated its codeshare partnership
with Emirates in
November.
While the majority of visitor traffic to
Bahamas is comprised of travellers from the US and Canada, the
nation also attracts tourists from other international points in
Emirates’ network including the United Arab Emirates, Greece,
India, China, Philippines and Singapore.
