Fort Lauderdale – A team of tourism and Bahamas maritime executives, including the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar, Minister of Tourism and Aviation and Hon. Frankie Campbell, Minister of Transport and Local Government are expected to attend the Annual Seatrade Cruise Global Conference, March 5-8, in Fort Lauderdale.
The premier industry event of the year, the Seatrade Cruise Global conference has, for the past thirty years, brought together government officials, port authorities, tourism agencies, industry suppliers and cruise executives from around the world, to analyze trends, discuss current issues and conduct cruise business.
“The cruise industry plays a pivotal role in the success of tourism, our number one industry,” says Minister D’Aguilar.
“The number of direct and indirect jobs the cruise industry provides for our nation is phenomenal. More than two thirds of our nation’s gross national product is derived from tourism, so it is imperative to us that the cruise business is successful, because their success is tied to our success,” he said.
“The Bahamas is a diverse and naturally beautiful country with a unique history and plethora of land and sea activities to choose from. We welcome the spend cruise visitors inject into our local economy and we are working on programs that will further enhance our visitors experiences and increase their spend with us,” he said.
The Bahamas receives more than 6 million visitors to its shores each year, of which more than 4.6 million visit by cruise.
A country of over 700 islands and cays, The Bahamas is located just 55 miles off the coast of Florida and has been declared as one of the most sought after destination in the world. Of the 27 million visitors who cruised the Caribbean in 2017, a vast majority of them visited The Bahamas’ main ports in Nassau and Freeport and five of its private islands including Castaway Cay, Coco Cay, Great Stirrup Cay, Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays.
