The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Forward visitor bookings to The Bahamas having increased by 9.2 percent, a top tourism official said yesterday, following a total arrivals increase of 15 per cent.

Joy Jibrilu, pictured, the Ministry of Tourism's director-general, said The Bahamas is set to kick-off its new marketing campaign in January 2019, having taken a "strategic approach" to generating exposure for all islands.

She added that while crime remains a concern, "less than half of one percent" of this nation's 6.5 million stopover and cruise passenger visitors are likely being impacted.

Mrs Jibrilu, who is also also chairwoman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation's (CTO) Board of Directors, was addressing the media ahead of the State of The Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC) being held at Atlantis from October 2-5.

She said: "We have an [advertising] campaign in place that will launch in January. It will be launched across all the media channels. I think that from January everyone will see what's taking place.

"In terms of the Out Islands it's about focusing on those islands; having individual banners, creating the individual stories. We have done Nassau, Harbour Island, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama. We just completed Exuma.

"We are going into every one of those islands and creating stories so people learn the names of the island, identify them and the things those islands have to offer. It will be a very strategic approach to getting all the islands in the public arena."

As for concerns over the potential threat persistent high crime levels pose to the tourist industry, Mrs Jibrilu added: "Safety and security is the number one issue for every Bahamian citizen and every visitor to the islands of The Bahamas. This is a problem that we in The Bahamas, and I think as a region, are all grappling with. We can look at the sources of what is causing it.

"We work hand-in-hand with the US Embassy, as well as all the police and uniformed branches. I don't want to say there is not an issue of crime in The Bahamas. We are watching closely and are happy that out of 6.5 million visitors, less than one per cent - I think probably less than half of a per cent - are impacted by crime.

"The concern is that the crime is taking place in the inner-city. That is related to issues the Government is dealing with on a national level, but does not impact our major thoroughfares where we do see our guests traversing."

Still, Mrs Jibrilu noted that Nassau is a city and visitors should exercise the same level of caution as they would in any other similar location.

The SOTIC conference is being held under the theme "Rejuvenate. Recreate. Reconnect. New Directions for Caribbean Tourism".