The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (BMOTIA) will continue its successful series of Global Sales and Marketing Missions with back-to-back events in North Carolina beginning on Wednesday, 19 Oct. in Charlotte and concluding on Thursday, 20 Oct. in Raleigh. These events aimed to solidify relationships with tourism partners and boost visitor arrivals in the area, come one month ahead of year-round direct flights from Charlotte and Raleigh to Grand Bahama Island starting in November.

The Honourable I. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation will lead the Bahamian delegation including The Honourable Ginger Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahama, Latia Duncombe, Acting Director General (ADG) (BMOTIA), Bahamas senior tourism officials, Bahamian hotel partners, sales and trade representatives and destination representatives, where they will all participate in a lineup of events that will include meetings with key stakeholders and media from across the tourism industry, as well as culturally inspired evenings at the Marriott Charlotte SouthPark in Charlotte and the Raleigh Marriott City Center in Raleigh.

Guests will get a taste of Bahamian culture through island-inspired hors d'oeuvre and savoury bites, as well as Bahamian-themed cocktails, music, and entertainment with an electrifying Junkanoo performance to end the night with a bang. A live Q+A panel will highlight The Bahamas’ steadily growing tourism numbers, plans for future growth and innovation, the beauty and appeal of its 16 islands and the many reasons why The Bahamas is a sought-after destination.

“The ease of travel to The Bahamas from North Carolina makes it a great getaway for Southeast travellers,” said ADG Duncombe. “We’re looking forward to ensuring that media, travel agents, industry stakeholders, and more, are aware of the many options there are for direct flights to destinations throughout The Islands of The Bahamas. For example, the new direct flights to

Grand Bahama with American Airlines from Charlotte launching on November 5 and the new Bahamasair route from Raleigh starting on November 17.”

With the introduction of Bahamasair’s new direct flight from Freeport to Raleigh-Durham commencing next month, the Bahamas national flag carrier has partnered with the BMOTIA and participated in the North Carolina Wine Fest and the North Carolina State Fair on 15 October and 16 October to promote the new service.

The series of Global Sales and Marketing Missions kicked off in September in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida. Upcoming stops in the U. S. and Canada include: Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal, Canada; and Houston, Texas. The BMOTIA will also head to Los Angeles, California and Atlanta, Georgia in the future.

Once the Missions to the major travel hubs across the U.S. and Canada have wrapped up, the BMOTIA delegation will visit Latin America and Europe to bring a taste of The Bahamas directly to key international markets across the globe to inspire travel to the destination.