Posted by: Editor on Sep 19, 2006 – 10:26 AM
newsandinfo The Bahamas is getting set to take advantage of the more than 50 million visitors who travel from Latin American countries to the United States.
This will be the combined effort of a Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Ministry of Tourism trade mission to Panama September 25 – 29, which will seek to open “new gateways” for Latin American visitors.
The group will comprise some 20 members of the Chamber along with Ministry of Tourism and Bahamasair officials. They will meet with executives of the Colon Free Trade Zone Association, the Panama Chamber of Commerce, and will also visit the Panama Canal Zone and Exhibition Centre.
“The economies of Latin American countries are strong,” said Tourism Ministry’s new head of the Latin American Department Glenda Johnson, at a press conference yesterday. She said the money units are strong against the international market and the majority of the countries are experiencing political stability.
“In this climate of growth and progress, Latin Americans, especially those with discretionary incomes are travelling more than ever be-fore,” said Ms Johnson, ad-ding that they now have the ability to purchase more luxury products and services.
And to get some of those Latin American tourists to The Bahamas, Copa Airlines, headquartered in Panama, was approached with regard to flying direct to The Bahamas in 2007. These talks will continue during the trade mission’s visit.
Director of Airlift at the Ministry, Tyrone Sawyer, said one of their main objectives is to diversify the base of the airlift to The Bahamas. He said 90 percent of the aircraft providing scheduled services originate in the US with 10 percent being distributed among Canada, Europe, Latin America, China and the rest of the world.
“So as an objective we want to diversify that and get more services to come from more places,” said Mr. Sawyer.
Mr. Sawyer is looking beyond leisure charter travel to trade between Panama and The Bahamas, which would entail a scheduled service to impact business travel and provide a base for revenue from freight to support the service.
He said at some stage the national flag carrier Bahamasair could be involved in a pro-rate agreement “so that the existing business that is now going into Florida can connect on Bahamasair, not only to Nassau but to all of the islands of The Bahamas.”
Mr. Sawyer said he commends the business people who will make the trip because they will benefit tremendously from the opportunity. Chamber Secretary Gershwin Major said the initiative is in keeping with the Ministry’s objective to “tap into new market in an effort to increase visitor arrivals” to The Bahamas.
He said it also provides the Chamber with an excellent opportunity to represent its membership in a new market by establishing a formal relationship with the Panamanian network of businesses.
Source: The Nassau Guardian