Bahamas Celebrates Sport Tourism Once More
The whole premise of sports tourism is not new to The Bahamas. In fact, the country has been involved with bringing athletes and their supporters to the country for years. However, the exciting venture is rising to a level in the country that has never been explored before.
“We are celebrating the year of our golden jubilee of tourism, and since the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) world relays are being held here, we figured that this would be a perfect time to celebrate sports tourism in the country,” said Virginia Kelly, general manager of sports tourism development .
“We have always been involved with sports tourism, most people feel that it is something new that we are doing, but I can remember times when we hosted various NBA (National Basketball Association) players such as Charles Barkley and Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson. We have always been interested in doing this, and now we have the facilities that allow us to host larger events.”
The month of May will be dedicated to the industry, and the Ministry of Tourism will be putting on various events throughout the month as a way to celebrate. The major event will be the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2014, which begins on May 24 and concludes on May 25. The event is set to bring in over 1,000 athletes from around the world as well as their families, friends and training staff.
“Something as big as this is not only good for our ministry, but for the entire country. The economic boost that the relays will provide will be felt throughout the island,” said Kelly.
The hotel industry is expected to receive a major chunk of the funds generated from the relays, but local business around the island should expect to see an increase in revenue as well, especially the small businesses closer to the stadium.
“We have been in contact with various hotels on the island, setting up information booths and other services that will help out with any concerns or needs that the guests may have. The stadium has allowed us to promote the country more as a tourist destination, and every time there is an event, people are hired to help refurbish it, so it is attracting money almost year round.”
Last year, The Bahamas was chosen as the location for the Miami Heat’s training camp. The event brought local and international media houses to the training ground of the two-time defending NBA Champions, thereby providing the country with immense publicity.
If everything goes well during the relays, the economic impact could be long term. For two days, the country will be under close examination by the world’s governing body for track and field, the IAAF. The feedback from the event could either be detrimental to the growth of sports tourism or propel The Bahamas as one of the leaders for sports tourism in the region.
“Things have been going well so far with the IAAF. We see eye-to-eye on several points, and things are just so much easier because we all have just one common goal, for this event to be a success,” said Kelly. “Working with them is not only good for the economy, but it helps with the way we do track and field moving forward. The IAAF has strict guidelines and they believe in things being done on schedule, so learning how to be more disciplined and knowing how to go about certain situations, we expect to put on a better event every time out.”
Source: http://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/bahamas-celebrates-sport-tourism/
