The Tribune

THE Bahamas has joined the ranks of 30 destinations featured in a popular mobile app for European travellers published by the UK-based Telegraph Media Group.

Travel Guides by the Telegraph, available free in the Apple store for iPhones and iPads from last month, includes The Bahamas, only the second Caribbean destination after St Kitts.

Local travel writer Noelle Khalila Nicolls landed the job of local expert for Telegraph Travel. She was responsible for writing the Bahamas travel guide and selecting the 89 featured businesses and attractions.

“The Telegraph reached out to me for the project having followed my work as The Domestic Tourist,” Ms Nicolls said. “I was of course excited to join their team and use the opportunity to truly highlight all islands of The Bahamas. Less than 30 per cent of the listings I chose were from Nassau and Paradise Island as I remain committed to promoting travel to all islands of The Bahamas and creating much-needed exposure for businesses in the Family Islands.”

Ms Nicolls writes The Domestic Tourist (www.domestictourist.com) travel blog, which shares insider tips and stories from her explorations of the Bahamian archipelago.

More than 150,000 people have downloaded the Telegraph’s travel app since it went live in 2014. Each of the 30 destination guides features a local expert. The Telegraph Media Group owns The Daily Telegraph, one of the UK’s largest daily newspapers. The Bahamas guide was sponsored by the Bahamas Tourist Office, UK.

The Bahamas travel app includes descriptive overviews of beaches, restaurants and bars, hotels, attractions and places to shop. It also includes sample tailored itineraries for an island-hopping week in the Exuma Cays and Long Island, and a weekend in Nassau.

Some of the listings deemed hidden gems by Ms Nicolls include the remote but stunning Lighthouse Beach in Eleuthera; Da Craft Cottage in Nassau, the place for stylish and quirky handmade Bahamian souvenirs and art; and Joulter Cays in Andros, an uninhabited cluster of islands off northern Andros. The Joulter Cays are designated an Important Bird Area, in keeping with Andros’ appeal as an ecotourism destination. The serene islands are also known to possess geological wonders.

Ms Nicolls was also appointed local expert for Travel and Leisure last year, producing a series of hotlists for the magazine’s website. She was also a writer for the recently launched Bahamas GeoTourism website, a collaborative project between the Ministry of Tourism and the National Geographic Society.