Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, has sealed an agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Bahamas to promote tourism to the Caribbean archipelago. The airline and The Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism will embark on joint initiatives to boost visitor traffic into the islands from key markets across Emirates’ network.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Group Chairman and Chief Executive and HE Tony Joudi, Ambassador of The Bahamas to the UAE and the State of Qatar at the Emirates Group Headquarters. Also present at the signing ceremony was Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer and Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for the Americas.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Group Chairman and Chief Executive said: “We are pleased to collaborate with The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Bahamas in supporting its goals to boost the nation’s tourism economy. Through our partnerships with United and Air Canada, we look forward to playing a key role in promoting The Bahamas as a key leisure destination. Our global customers from across our network can enjoy Emirates’ services to our points in North America and benefit from enhanced connectivity and access to the islands.”

His Excellency Tony Joudi, Ambassador of The Bahamas to the UAE and the State of Qatar said: “I would like to thank Emirates for playing a role in strengthening the connection between the two countries. Tourism is the lifeblood of our nation’s economy and, by growing visitor arrivals to our tropical island paradise, we hope to achieve our goals of stimulating the tourism economy and providing impetus to the business climate.

“Emirates is a facilitator of global connectivity and links the East with the West and we look forward to working closely with the airline to help us achieve our tourism targets. The economy at large will benefit from a further boost to tourism and our country has made significant investments in infrastructure to accommodate the anticipated boom in tourism. On behalf of the Government of The Bahamas and the nation’s people, we look forward to organising a familiarisation trip early this year for influencers and media to experience first-hand the best of our nation’s offerings and highlight it as a top tourist destination to their audiences,” continued Joudi.

Spread across 16 major islands, The Bahamas boasts more than 100,000 sq. miles of the world’s clearest ocean. Its coveted beaches and pristine shorelines make The Bahamas one of the most popular tourism destinations in the Caribbean, offering a rich mix of leisure and cultural activities for visitors.

Under the MoU, both parties will partner on joint promotional campaigns to benefit the airline and boost tourist arrivals into The Bahamas, by showcasing the destination’s appeal to visitors and holiday-makers. The agreement will see also marketing activities including media and trade familiarization trips, in the first quarter of 2023, and the development of tailor-made tour packages, through its tour operating arm Emirates Holidays, which can be booked by customers across the airline’s vast network. Both parties have also agreed to explore opportunities to collaborate on joint advertising campaigns to promote the West Indies destination.

Emirates currently flies to 12 points in the US in addition to Toronto. Emirates’ customers from across its global network can utilise its services to fly to US destinations such as Houston, Chicago, or Newark before connecting to Nassau on United, thanks to the partnership between both airlines. Travellers can also fly to The Bahamas via Toronto, with Canada’s national carrier Air Canada, which activated its codeshare partnership in November.

While the majority of visitor traffic to The Bahamas is comprised of travellers from the US and Canada, The Bahamas also attracts tourists from other international points in Emirates’ network including the United Arab Emirates, Greece, India, China, the Philippines and Singapore.

Currently Emirates customers can connect to Nassau airport on codeshare flights with Air Canada via Toronto and from major US airports including Houston (IAH), Newark (EWR), and Chicago (ORD) on interline flights with United. Emirates operates a modern fleet of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft to a network of more than 130 destinations across six continents.