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The Bahamas celebrate success at DEMA
Divers Show High Interest in The Bahamas at DEMA Show; Bahamas Named 2022 Best Dive Destination for Big Animals and Captures a Plethora of Readers’ Choice Awards
The Islands of The Bahamas is once again capturing the attention of dive experts, operators, trade media and visitors alike. The DEMA Show, which ran from November 16-19, 2021, is the largest trade-only event in the world for companies doing business in the scuba diving, ocean water sports and adventure/dive travel industries.
The Bahamas’ participation at the DEMA Show was fully organized by the Vertical Markets Team of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (BMOTIA) for the first time ever in its 30 years of participation. The Team’s destination partners included: the Bahama Out Islands Promotion Board, Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board, Bahamas National Trust, Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas, Sandals Resort and the Bahamas Dive Ambassadors. Resorts World Bimini, Comfort Suites Paradise Island, West End Watersports, Brendal’s Dive Center, Bimini Big Game Club Resort & Marina and Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center provided accommodations and dive prizes at the show.
“The Islands of The Bahamas completely dominated this year’s show,” said Greg Rolle, Sr. Director, Verticals Market, BMOTIA. “Competing exhibitors and divers alike were totally blown away by our booth’s presentation.”
“The Bahamas’ presence was most impressive,” added Mr. Rolle. “Throughout the show, we were complimented for our professional, captivating and vibrant displays, showcasing our rich and diverse sea life on an interactive video wall, on large branded banners, in new collaterals and unique floor to ceiling branded signage.”
Rolle pointed out that the Bahamas dive operators have been busy. They have been able to conduct many one-on-one business opportunities with divers. Additionally, members of the Bahamas Verticals Market team have been able to capture and expand their clientele reach, through innovative and interactive programs, inclusive of daily dive seminars, giveaway registration, dive trip sign ups and linkages with Bahamas Dive Ambassadors.
“The Bahamas is blessed with natural beauty both on land and undersea. And, just today, Scuba Diving Magazine announced its 2022 Readers Choice Award Winners and once again, The Bahamas was named the Top Destination for Big Animals, an award we have won, consecutively, now for more than 20 years. The Bahamas also captured second place finishes in Best Cave, Cavern and Grotto Diving and Best Wreck Diving, respectively. In addition to this, The Bahamas was also voted one of the Best Destinations in the Caribbean for: Best Overall Dive Destination, Best Value, Best Snorkeling, Best Wall Diving, Best Shore Diving, Best Beginner Diving, Best Advanced Diving, Best Photography, Best Marco Life and Best Health of Marine Life,” Mr. Rolle concluded.
For more information about visiting the Bahamas click here.
This week has seen the announcement of the designation of Seahorse National Park at Hatchet Bay Cave and Sweetings Pond on Eleuthera. This monumental announcement comes after years of efforts from the BNT and its partners in advocating for the protection of Sweetings Pond and its surrounding areas as an official national park under the BNT’s management.
Sweetings Pond is a large, land-locked saltwater pond in Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera. It has many unique natural features, but the most notable of them all is its incredible seahorse population, which is believed to be the densest population of seahorses in the world. The new 548-acre national park protects the entire one-mile-long pond and the surrounding terrestrial area. The land surrounding Sweetings Pond is a blend of intact coppice, mangroves, and farmlands. In addition, the new national park includes the extensive Hatchet Bay Caves system. This historic cave system is a popular attraction and contains a number of impressive geological features. It is one of the longest dry cave systems in The Bahamas.
Since 2014, the BNT has been leading efforts to have the area declared as a national park. This included years of public outreach and stakeholder consultations in communities across Eleuthera; education presentations in local schools; science and research efforts; and engaging consecutive government administrations. In 2018, the BNT submitted the “20 by 20 Marine Protection Plan” to the government, which included the recommendation to declare Sweetings Pond and other areas in The Bahamas as protected areas.
During the lease signing ceremony for Seahorse National Park, Minister Clay Sweeting, said, “This lease agreement for Sweetings Pond has been a long time coming. It represents a milestone in our journey towards sustainable development. It symbolises our collective responsibility to safeguard our natural heritage and create a harmonious relationship between economic progress and environmental preservation.
“I would like to express my gratitude to all stakeholders in this process of drafting and finalising this lease agreement. Their dedication, expertise, and commitment has been crucial in ensuring that this agreement falls in line with our vision of creating a thriving ecosystem while promoting responsible usage. Let us continue to preserve the jewel that is Sweetings Pond for many generations to come.”
The BNT invites the public to stay tuned for more news about its plan for the country’s newest national park: Seahorse National Park at Hatchet Bay Cave and Sweetings Pond!
To learn more about the role the BNT plays in managing terrestrial and marine national parks, conserving wildlife, and informing environmental policy, please visit its website: www.bnt.bs
Follow/subscribe to its various social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Banner Image: A lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus), female, clining to algae in an alkaline pond in The Bahamas by Shane Gross
Following the popularity of the PADI Club trip to Belize at the end of July, a second “dive trip of a lifetime” has just been announced by PADI Club to Bonaire this September 23-30, 2023.
Offered exclusively for PADI Club members as part of their yearly benefits, attendees will get to seek adventure while staying at the all-inclusive Buddy Dive Resort, one of PADI’s premier members on the island. Other PADI Members in Bonaire – including Toucan Divers, Divi Flamingo, Wanna Dive, Dive Friends and Scuba Do – will also be hosting various dive experiences throughout the week.
“Bonaire is a unique and beautiful gem in the Dutch Caribbean and we want to show our Club Members this little island looms large as a dive destination,” says Zach Pavkov, PADI Club Operations Manager. “This trip offers participants a chance to not only explore a world-class diving destination but do so through some of the very best PADI Operators.”
PADI Club members will receive a generous discount for this seven-day diving adventure, with packages starting at $1,739 per diver for double occupancy.
Included in the package are:
- social events that include hosted dinners, cocktail parties and live music
- transportation in Buddy Dive Resort’s famous pick-up truck
- daily shore diving and boat diving
- accommodation, with the option to share a room with another solo diver or rent out one, two and three-bedroom apartments to host larger groups of divers
- surface interval activities that include PADI Seminars and island excursions like hiking and bird-watching.
“Because the water surrounding Bonaire has been an established marine park for 44 years, Bonaire is now a top-ranked destination with abundant marine life that includes scorpionfish, flounder and frogfish, moray eels, hawksbill turtles and eagle rays, ” continues Pavkov.
With limited spots available, the list of participants will be decided on a first-come, first-served basis. Those who are not yet PADI Club Members but are interested in joining the trip can sign-up, which will also give them access to:
- 20% of PADI eLearning® programs and PADI Gear™
- a free ReActivate® online refresher
- a free DAN® Prepared Diver course
- a subscription to Scuba Diving® magazine
- access to the PADI Club Celebrity Speaker Series webinars
- brand partner benefits from GoPro, Uber, Salt Life and more
To further support ocean lovers to create positive ocean change, five percent of the PADI Club membership fee will go towards supporting conservation efforts around the globe.
“PADI Club benefits are designed not just to empower divers to explore the ocean, but also enable them to play a pivotal role in saving the ocean too,” says Pavkov. “This year’s additional expedition to Bonaire gives our community the chance to come together and explore our shared blue planet in a truly meaningful and connected way.”
Click here to sign up for PADI Club and reserve your spot here to join the Bonaire dive trip.
Seahorse National Park announced on Eleuthera in The Bahamas
PADI Club invites Ocean Lovers on exclusive dive trip to Bonaire this September
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