By GENEA NOEL
Freeport News Reporter
Addressing the promotional and marketing issues on the island, the Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board (GBITB) held its first annual board meeting at the Our Lucaya Convection Centre, focusing primarily on airlift, marketing and enculturation in Grand Bahama.
With tourism being one of the island's key sources of revenue, the GBITB partnered with various tourist-based attractions, including hotels and travel Websites, to outline marketing schemes to promote Grand Bahama as a premier destination.
Executive Vice President of GBITB James Turner said it was important for the community and the board members to know what was actually happening, how the dues are being spent and what challenges they can face together.
"We can promote and diversify The Bahamas together, but communication is key," said Turner.
He added that the biggest challenge they are faced with is air transportation and the rise in fuel costs. Turner cited U.S. Airways as their biggest commercial airline supporter, bringing thousands of tourist to the island every week. Now, Turner says, U.S. Airways is asking the Board to face some of the financial challenges.
According to Turner, the Board is prepared to address this issue and see how best it can be dealt with.
Members were also concerned with the departure and arrival taxes for Grand Bahama, stating that taxes are too high and visitors would rather travel to Nassau because of cheaper tax rates.
Turner assured the members that at the beginning of this year, Freeport and Nassau's rates were almost the same with only a five dollar difference.
"The cost of doing business is Grand Bahama is expensive," Turner said. "We need not lose our competitive edge."
The Board has also made new marketing initiatives for this year. Turner said that they are planning a campaign to place television monitors throughout the island to see what activities visitors are involved in. This programme will help them get an understanding of what visitors like to do and places they prefer to go.
The Board along with their website partners are offering a $200 instant rebate offer to customers who purchase their travel accommodations on- line.
"Many person have taken advantage of the rebate, I think it has really helped when visitors consider where to go in the Bahamas." said Turner
He added that the Board is also planning a enculturation exercise where they work closely with human resource departments on the island to improve the quality of service that each company provides. They plan to supply these agencies with electronic learning tools to teach their staff good customer service.
"Good service is an art form, not something we get up and put on," said Turner.
Executive Director of the Grand Bahama Tourism office, Carey Fountain was also in attendance. Fountain shared that these meeting are important because it helps to promote Grand Bahama on a singular level.
"We have realized that there is no other place that can compare to Grand Bahama, we have to promote the island on its own," said Fountain.
He added that the Board is partnering with the American Automobile Association (AAA), which has an hotel accreditation system, to bring Bahamian hotel up to par with their standards.
"When visitors see that an establishment is AAA approved, they are more inclined to stay there," said Fountain.
AAA had been on board with Tourism from October of last year, assessing the hotels in Grand Bahama and helping them achieve a tourist class standard. Once an establishment has reached that standard, AAA will give their stamp of approval and they would then be able to join the Board.
" Joining the Tourism Board has many advantages, there is financial help in marketing and advertising and groups are able to network with different businesses," said Fountain.
The Board will host meetings regularly throughout the year and encourage tourist based organizations to contribute in making Grand Bahama better than it was before.
