The Tribune

THE Bahamas' official website has earned the destination the highest honour in the Interactive Media Awards.

Bahamas.com, which is the official Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (BMOTA) website, has won the 'Best In Class' award for the category of travel and tourism.

Ministry officials rely heavily on data collected by the website to drive decision making. The Ministry has established a digital dashboard to see real time statistics such as traffic to Bahamas.com and engagement on all social channels.

The website's dashboard also measures website visitors' clicks on booking deals, as well as converting those clicks to leads for hotel properties.

Recently, officials added a commission-free, hotel booking direct engine on Bahamas.com, powered by a company called JackRabbit.

For the period of December 1, 2017, to February 28, 2018, the 'book now' links from individual hotels listed on Bahamas.com generated 5,040 leads directly for industry partners. "This shows that we are moving in the right direction," said Joy Jibrilu, director-general of tourism.

"The islands of the Bahamas have benefited greatly from our online presence, and the world is certainly taking notice. We are going to continue with this trend to show the world what we have to offer and why it is better in the Bahamas." Bahamas.com has seen significant increases in unique visitors and page views, according to officials, and plans are being made to enhance the ability for visitors to search for places to stay in this nation. The website will also expand individual property listings with larger imagery, videos, a map, relevant activities and Trip Advisor reviews.