Paul Strachan of the Bahamas Tourist Office
Sunwing's Lorraine Brisbois with Janet Cuffie of the Bahamas Tourist Office
Marlin Travel's Kirti Mistry chats with Todd Kirlik of Blue Diamond Hotels & Resorts
Pelican Bay's Magnus Alnebeck, Elaine Carnegie repping Grand Lucayan & Juan Romero from Viva Wyndham
CWT Victor Travel's Agnes Weisz & Regina Zamel with Hymie Lebowitz of YYZ Travel
Lydia Mitilineos, Handa Travel; Linda Sharp, Travelpoint; & Ludy Pasilabban, Flight Centre
Drum roll please… Sunwing is reintroducing Grand Bahama Island to the Canadian market. It’s been approximately 10 years since an airline has operated year-round, direct service to Freeport and neighbouring Nassau on Paradise Island has been getting most of the attention since.
No offense to Nassau, but the rest of the Bahamas has just as much to offer. According to Paul Strachan, Director of the Bahamas Tourist Office, Nassau is known for its large, themed resorts, nightlife and casinos, while Grand Bahama Island caters to clients looking for a more laid back vacation experience, with activities such as kayaking through the mangroves, beachfront horseback riding, scuba diving or swimming with dolphins. “Grand Bahama has a more of a country club feel,” he said.
The Bahamas Tourist Office hosted an event last week for 150 agents to showcase the destination and debut Sunwing’s Grand Bahama Island product. Sunwing representatives, as well as hoteliers from Grand Bahama Island delivered short presentations while guests enjoyed a delicious Bahamian buffet.
“WestJet has serviced Freeport for a few years now, but only on a seasonal basis. It’s been years since there's been a year-round, non-stop flight,” said Hymie Lebowitz of YYZ Travel. "It’ll be a nice option and change to Nassau, which is getting too busy. The beauty of Freeport is that it’s not exploited. It’ll be more quaint and unspoiled.”
Beginning January 18th Sunwing will operate direct, seasonal service to Freeport from 5 Canadian gateways – YEG, YWG, YUL, YHZ and YOW, while flights from YYZ will run year-round on a weekly rotation. Properties featured in their Grand Bahama Island collection include the Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach Hotel; the Pelican Bay Hotel; the Grand Lucayan Bahamas and the newly acquired Blue Diamond property, Memories Grand Bahama Beach & Casino Resort, which is currently undergoing renovations and scheduled to re-open on January 16th.
“We’re really excited about re-introducing Grand Bahama Island with Sunwing,” said Strachan. “What’s new about this program is that their Memories property is truly an all-inclusive product, which will resonate with Canadians familiar with the Memories brand that Sunwing already offers.”
“There’s been demand from different areas in Canada to go to Grand Bahama Island,” said Todd Kirlik of Blue Diamond Hotels & Resorts. “It’s a new destination with lots to offer, world-class service, great beaches, great golf and nice people.”
According to Strachan, Nassau received approximately 60,000 Canadian visitors in 2012, while only 23-25,000 travelled to Grand Bahama Island. By re-launching the destination in partnership with Sunwing, the Bahamas Tourist Office expects that the numbers will increase by 50% next year. If all goes as planned, Paradise Island will soon have to share its spotlight.
