Bahamaren, a Bahamian-owned company, has partnered with China Travel Service, a large Chinese travel service provider, in a partnership it says is a "powerful opportunity for The Bahamas to significantly expand our presence in China".
The company described the alliance as a broad partnership that enhances The Bahamas' position in the outbound China tourism industry, while significantly expanding Bahamaren's reach in China and other key, high-growth markets.
The new partnership is expected to spark tourism growth for The Bahamas and additionally expand the nation's tourism product throughout mainland China by maximizing the product development, talents and resources at both companies, while driving scale and efficiency in the partners' respective supply chains.
For the first time ever China Travel Service will begin the process of preparing summer packages for The Bahamas, and in September will also begin the preparation of packages for the opening of Baha Mar and the Chinese New Years Festival. China Travel Services has agreed to charter three flights into The Bahamas from China during the 2015 New Years Festival.
CEO of Bahamaren Latrae Rahming also met with the directors from China Travel Services, and noted their concerns regarding the lack of Mandarin-speaking tour operators in The Bahamas. There was a mutual agreement that The Bahamas offered a better product over its competitors, but a non-existing direct flight is a disadvantage among the competition for Chinese travelers. The directors of China Travel Services requested that Bahamaren increase its target of 10,000 Chinese considering the amount of Chinese traveling to the USA and The Bahamas.
Bahamaren said the partnership is a "strong strategic fit, leveraging the two companies' respective strengths", and focusing on the main areas: Leisure travel services, customized itineraries, business travel services, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and destination management, visa assistance and travel insurance.
China Travel Service (U.S.A.), Inc. is the oldest and largest travel company focusing on Mainland China and Hong Kong, with over 300 offices in China. CTS is the largest conglomerate in the country, with assets exceeding US$3.9 billion.
"Today's announcement with industry leader China Travel Service is another solid step in our journey to build on our foundation in tourism and become a leader in the Caribbean in the travel service era," said Latrae Rahming, Bahamaren chairman and CEO.
"This partnership will help us fully deliver on our tourism strategy by giving us the strong back-end capabilities and the business foundation in tourism and hospitality, in addition to our already strong position in Asia consultancies. China Travel Service is the perfect partner to help us fully realize the tourism opportunity in the long term."

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