The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THIS year’s Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival will not feature a headline act, multiple officials confirmed to The Tribune yesterday.

The event will only feature Bahamian artists.

Despite this, Robert Sands, commissioner and chairman of the marketing committee for carnival, predicted that more tourists would attend this year’s event compared to last year.

He said the lack of a headliner won’t affect the way the event will be received, arguing that marketing of the festival has improved to such a degree that more visitors will book hotels this year than did last year.

He did not, however, give the Bahamas National Festival Commission’s (BNFC) specific targets for tourism arrivals and hotel bookings.

The decision not to have a headliner is a significant and unexpected change from last year.

BNFC Chairman Paul Major and Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe both suggested last year that a failure to secure a headline act well before the start of the 2015 festival hindered marketing efforts while possibly preventing the event from attracting more tourists.

And although Trinidadian soca artist Machel Montana was eventually contracted to headline the event, organisers were criticised for not securing a headline act sooner, allowing speculation to abound during the interim period about who would be chosen.

Last year’s event was well received by Bahamians, attracting record numbers gathered in a single area. Nonetheless, the Christie administration still has much to prove to its critics regarding the sustainability and profitability of the festival.

Last year’s festival failed to create a profit for the government. The event also went over-budget, costing the government $11.3m despite an initial budget of $9m. Organisers nonetheless argued that the negative shortfall was not unusual for inaugural events and that the event would become more successful in the future.

The Tribune was told that the government will set aside about $3m to fund the event this year, though this has not been finalised.

Mr Sands said yesterday: “We’re not convinced that the headliner act is the only reason why people will come, although it’s one of the reasons they will come. The fact that this is the second annual festival, the word-of-mouth, the excitement of how successful it was last year, will push the event forward. The fact that we have promoted these events at other carnivals around the region will help as well. Lots of efforts are being made to attract bodies in beds.

“We are collaborating significantly with key markets in the United States and promoting the event through social media, radio and billboards to attract individuals to this event. We expect numbers greater than last year and we have the momentum on our side. The hotels are sensitised to the fact that carnival will be taking place this April, but it’s premature to say how this relates to hotel bookings.”

Mr Sands said organisers have learned to be more forward thinking while marketing the event, including by focusing on diaspora areas.

That the government will contribute less money to fund the festival this year should not impair their efforts to make this year’s event a bigger success, he said.

“We’ve been more visible this year. Last year was the foundation year. Many things we did then won’t be replicated this year. The amount of money spent this year will be used more for execution and generation of tactics and marketing that will allow us to attract people to the event. We expect that next year we will spend even less money and that revenue generation will be even greater.”