The 16 Weddings Invitation promotion launch in Toronto, Canada.
THE Ministry of Tourism is spreading the love to Canada during the Year of Romance by inviting Canadian couples to register to win the wedding of a lifetime in the world’s leading wedding destination – the islands of the Bahamas.
The ministry officially launched its “16 Weddings Invitation” promotion in Toronto, Canada last week during a Bahamian themed lunch at the Park Hyatt hotel.
The initiative will enable 16 lucky Canadian couples to have their dream wedding in the Bahamas on November 16, 2016, at 16.00 hours. The weddings will take place simultaneously at 16 different locations throughout the country.
The promotion aims to solidify the Bahamas’ position as the premier destination for weddings and honeymoons, increase the profile of the Family Islands, maximise interest in the Bahamas before, during and after the campaign, and increase visitor numbers.
“It’s a fun and exciting promotion, but it is also educational. We want Canadians to know that we are a multi-island destination. That has always been a challenge for us, getting the Canadian consumer to understand that there is more to the Bahamas than just Nassau/Paradise Island and Grand Bahama. Through this initiative, thousands of couples will learn about the various islands of the Bahamas and their many offerings,” said Paul Strachan, senior director at the Bahamas Tourist Office in Canada.
“It’s a social media campaign so it’s multifaceted. Of course this will work to our benefit because the posts about why couples want to get married in the Bahamas will go viral. It’s also a soft form of advertising that we expect will increase the number of Canadians visiting the islands of the Bahamas, and we are really excited about it,” Mr Strachan added.
The launch of the promotion comes during the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) Year of Romance and on the heels of the Bahamas being named Leading Wedding Destination by World Travel Awards.
The Ministry of Tourism is running the 16 Weddings Invitation for a third time after experiencing much success in the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2012, the UK promotion attracted more than 40,000 visitors to the Bahamas’ 16 Weddings website, and the promotion won the Most Innovative Marketing Campaign Award 2013 by The Chartered institute of Marketing.
The US promotion in 2014 saw more than 3,000 couples enter for a chance to win a Bahamas wedding. That same year, the wedding and honeymoon market brought in 76,000 stopover visitors and a total of $112m.
This unique multimedia contest now invites engaged couples in Canada to select one of the 16 locations as the backdrop for their dream wedding. The promotion highlights the diversity, beauty, charm and distinct characters, flavours and cultures of each of the 16 distinct wedding locations and provides an opportunity for 16 newly engaged couples to receive a complimentary dream destination wedding.
Couples are encouraged to creatively incorporate something that is distinct and indigenous to the islands into their wedding ceremony, using suggested wedding themes. Contestants will then upload photos and/or a short video to www.bahamas16weddings.com, describing their dream Bahamas wedding and why they should be selected to win.
Semi-finalists will be selected by a panel of judges and posted on the site for consumers to vote via social media for the most creative entries. The 16 contestants with the most votes will form the winning group of couples to be married in the Bahamas.
Couples will receive complimentary round trip airline tickets from their respective towns to the Bahamas, hotel accommodation including meals for a minimum of five nights, a wedding ceremony, cake, and flowers. A personal wedding co-ordinator will also be provided for each couple.
The contest closes on June 10 and winners will be announced on June 16.
The wedding locations and themes are: Abaco (Hope Town Harbour Lodge) - You Light Up My Life; Abaco (Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbour) - Nautical Love; Andros (Tiamo Resort) - Love in the Deep Blue Sea; Bimini (Bimini Bay Resort) - Lost in your Embrace; Cat Island (Fernandez Bay Resort) - Mystical Love; Crooked Island (Tranquility Bay) - Seashell Beauty; Eleuthera (The Cove) - Barefoot Lovers’ Bliss; Harbour Island (Valentine’s Resort) - Pink Sand Paradise; Exuma (February Point) - Seaside Serenade; Grand Bahama (Memories Resort, Freeport) - Enchanted Encounter; Grand Bahama (Old Bahama Bay, West End) - Grand Romance; Inagua (Enrica’s Inn and Guest House) - Birds of Paradise; Long Island (Cape Santa Maria) - Tropical Dream; Nassau (Sapodilla) - Royal Bliss; Paradise Island (Atlantis) - Colour Me with Love; San Salvador (Riding Rock Resort) - Landfall Elegance.
Unexpected island romance ends with ‘I do’, see Weekend.
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