The Bahamas’ new promotional campaign, “Fly Away,” based on the 1999 Grammy-winning song by Lenny Kravitz, has taken on greater impetus as the tourism industry in the islands endeavours to get the urgent message out that it is open for business in the aftermath of devastating Hurricane Dorian earlier this fall.

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (BMOTA) officials – along with close to two dozen island tourism partners – brought the message, and campaign, to Canada in mid-November on a whirlwind cross-country road show that included media and trade events in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.

The tour was called “the largest media blitz in Canadian history” by the Bahamas with the purpose of thanking Canadians for their support in the aftermath of the hurricane, but also to help “reverse the decline” in Bahamian visitations since the hurricane with the refrain, “the best way to help the Bahamas is to visit The Bahamas. Never have your tourism dollars been more impactful.”

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism Director General Joy Jibrilu told her audience in Vancouver, “Following Hurricane Dorian, we felt that it was absolutely critical to come and let the Canadian market know that we are open for business and to introduce The Bahamas to new aspects of the Canadian market. As far west as Vancouver, there is huge potential to market the country.”

In fact, Canada is Bahamas’ second largest international market after the US and had been posting a double-digit year-over-year gain (10.5%) in 2019 before Dorian (following a 14% increase in 2018).

“It’s not business as usual in The Bahamas – that will be years away, but this is a major step to be present in the Canadian market to regain momentum,” Jibilu added.

After the final leg of the three-city tour in Toronto, Bahamas Tourism Office Canada Director Paul Strachan told Travel Industry Today that the mission’s results were “overwhelming,” with more than 500 guests in total turning out. “(The trade) wants to hear our message,” he enthused.

The response was particularly gratifying given the belief by many in The Bahamas that the effects of the storm have been mischaracterized as having affected the destination in its entirety, rather than merely regionally (the north).

Bahamas tourism minister Dionisio D’Aguilar blamed international media for “making a bad situation worse” by reporting generally that The Bahamas had been “destroyed” by the storm.

And while Dorian is considered is the strongest hurricane and worst natural disaster to ever hit the islands, with 300 km. gusts of winds sustained over 48 hours, D’Aguilar emphasized that nearly 90 percent of the country’s infrastructure was “completely unimpacted” by the storm and only two of The Bahamas’ 700 islands were significantly affected – Grand Bahama and Abaco.

And while the latter is still essentially closed to visitors, Grand Bahama is on the road to recovery, with Freeport in particular rebounding quickly as a result of many of its hotels having been spared from significant damage and both the airport and cruise port both reopening soon after the storm. The result is that 15 of The Bahamas’ 16 island groups are welcoming visitors, he pointed out.

NPI UNAFFECTED

Significantly, The Bahamas’ most important destination, Nassau-Paradise Island (NPI), entirely escaped the wrath of Dorian, with D’Aguilar noting that it was “probably more breezy and rainy on a typical wintry day in Toronto than in Nassau on the day Dorian struck.”

“I’m here to reassure you that Nassau-Paradise Island was totally untouched… We are alive and well,” affirmed Fred Lounsberry, CEO of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, who noted that the tourism recovery “is in good shape… and we’re starting to make up ground.”

Indeed, he says that even with the hurricane, Canadian arrivals in the capital – which receives 80 percent of all visitation to the Bahamas – are up 39 percent year to date and “all the trends we’re seeing are very positive.”

Nevertheless, like all the Bahamian tourism execs at the Canadian events, Lounsberry says that it will be “a long road” for an overall recovery from Dorian in the islands.

To that end, the BMOTA is counting on its new campaign, featuring favourite son Kravitz (who grew up and currently lives on Eleuthera), to lend some star appeal to the tourism recovery efforts.

“The Bahamas is where he was inspired to write (“Fly Away”), so it was a natural fit for our new brand campaign to feature his song and allow him to recount his experiences about being Bahamian,” said minister D’Aguilar.

Consisting of a commercial plus second video interview featuring Kravitz talking about The Bahamas, the campaign was launched in May (before Dorian), but clearly resonates more deeply post-hurricane.

Jibrilu says the BMOTA was delighted to have the opportunity to use “Fly Away” as the “anthem” for its campaign and adds that the rock star said his song “was made for a time such this.”

Moreover, she says Kravitz actually asked to do the second video to talk about how important the islands are to him. “My first memories of The Bahamas are magical,” he opines in the video, adding, “I think people are drawn to The Bahamas because of the natural beauty, and the gorgeous water. And the people!… You come to here to slow down, to have time to slow down, and to just enjoy the moment.”

After making two videos, Jibrilu says Kravitz asked to make a third, based on a re-interpretation of “Fly Away” to a junkanoo (Bahamian carnival) beat, to bring the song “full circle” back to the place that inspired it.

“Lenny,” says the director general, still amazed, “is a gift that just keeps on giving!”

The people of the Bahamas are counting on it.

Check out the “Fly Away” commercial.

And the Kravitz video HERE.