The Tribune

The Ministry of Tourism (BMOTA) was recognised in the Virtual Visitor Award category for Best Feature in an Online Publication at the annual Caribbean Tourism Industry Awards.

The award was granted to the Ministry and Alexander Britell, editor-in-chief of the Caribbean Journal, for the article headlined, Following Dr Martin Luther King Jr. in Bimini. The Bahamas was recognised for editorial coverage with nominations in three other categories:

• Up the Social Ladder: Best Social Media Marketing Campaign by a CTO member country: The Bahamas #NoFilter social influencer campaign

• Me Too! I Rediscovered Home! Best Feature by a diasporan journalist in US or Caribbean Media: Essence, Four reasons to fall in love with this classic Bahamas resort all over again

• No Anansi Story! Best feature by a Caribbean-based journalist that appeared in Caribbean-based media: Welcome Bahamas, Families flock to Pirates Cove: Freeport welcomes first Bahamian theme park

In addition to editorial accolades for The Bahamas, the Ministry of Tourism's director-general, Joy Jibrilu, received the Allied Award. This is presented to an individual from the CTO who has contributed to the region's sustainable development.

"Being recognised across four diverse categories is a huge honour for the Ministry, and reflects the Ministry's continued efforts to impact tourism and raise the profile for the country, both here in the Caribbean and in the US," said Dionisio D'Aguilar, minister of tourism.

"We've seen strong growth in the online journalism and social influencer space in 2018, and continue to pursue efforts that push boundaries and innovate how we showcase all the adventures that await in The Bahamas."

The award ceremony honours the best editorial media coverage and social media campaigns executed by CTO member countries to promote tourism to the destination. Winners were selected by an expert panel of nine travel media and industry judges. Mr D'Aguilar, Mrs Jibrilu and representatives from the Ministry accepted the awards at Caribbean Week New York 2018.