wigstheone
Nov 13, 01, 8:05 am
GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND — What's in a name?
Let's see ... Given the choice, would you rather vacation in Freeport, an appellation that conjures images of bargains and business, or in Lucaya, a word that floats off the tongue like a tropical breeze?
Either way, you'd end up in essentially the same place. Namely, the developed western part of Grand Bahama Island, 55 miles off the coast of Florida. But with $650 million in new development and infrastructure improvements now underway, the image consultants are working overtime to apply new polish to a previously tarnished vacation playground.
In October, the cruise harbor dropped Freeport and became Lucayan Harbour Cruise Facility. Similarly, the international airport abandoned Freeport in favor of Grand Bahama Island. A sprawling three-hotel complex collectively called Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort opened in December. Elsewhere on the island, several hotels are undergoing massive face-lifts.
Though the commercial center still answers to Freeport, tourism officials hope the name change will signal that the island can be as regarded for its beaches, golf and eco-tours as it has been for gambling, time-shares and shopping.
"We got complacent and lost momentum," says Terrence Roberts, vice president of the GBI Tourism Board. Tourism-wise, the island "hit bottom" about five years ago, he says. Competition from other resort areas is partially responsible for the decline. But the proliferation of "vacation-certificate" operators whose tactics left customers frequently dissatisfied, cheapened the island's image. (Some certificate operators use a variety of deceptive practices including leading customers to believe they've won a free or heavily discounted vacation, then tack on lots of additional fees.)
But in the past three years, Roberts declares, "We've been coming back to our former days of luster," becoming less hospitable to the vacation-certificate industry and awash in new investment. About 400,000 visitors overnighted last year, up 6.6% from 1999. And with the debut of new hotels, officials anticipate visits will rise another 10% this year.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/travel/leisure/2001/2001-02-09-bahamas.htm
Let's see ... Given the choice, would you rather vacation in Freeport, an appellation that conjures images of bargains and business, or in Lucaya, a word that floats off the tongue like a tropical breeze?
Either way, you'd end up in essentially the same place. Namely, the developed western part of Grand Bahama Island, 55 miles off the coast of Florida. But with $650 million in new development and infrastructure improvements now underway, the image consultants are working overtime to apply new polish to a previously tarnished vacation playground.
In October, the cruise harbor dropped Freeport and became Lucayan Harbour Cruise Facility. Similarly, the international airport abandoned Freeport in favor of Grand Bahama Island. A sprawling three-hotel complex collectively called Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort opened in December. Elsewhere on the island, several hotels are undergoing massive face-lifts.
Though the commercial center still answers to Freeport, tourism officials hope the name change will signal that the island can be as regarded for its beaches, golf and eco-tours as it has been for gambling, time-shares and shopping.
"We got complacent and lost momentum," says Terrence Roberts, vice president of the GBI Tourism Board. Tourism-wise, the island "hit bottom" about five years ago, he says. Competition from other resort areas is partially responsible for the decline. But the proliferation of "vacation-certificate" operators whose tactics left customers frequently dissatisfied, cheapened the island's image. (Some certificate operators use a variety of deceptive practices including leading customers to believe they've won a free or heavily discounted vacation, then tack on lots of additional fees.)
But in the past three years, Roberts declares, "We've been coming back to our former days of luster," becoming less hospitable to the vacation-certificate industry and awash in new investment. About 400,000 visitors overnighted last year, up 6.6% from 1999. And with the debut of new hotels, officials anticipate visits will rise another 10% this year.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/travel/leisure/2001/2001-02-09-bahamas.htm