Monday, July 13, 2009

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GB festival time MP for West End & Bimini Obie Wilchcombe is renewing calls for the creation of a seminal event to put Grand Bahama on the cultural map, pointing to revenue gains associated with the sort of music festivals Nassau is only now cottoning onto. Those cultural humdingers are synonymous with competing Caribbean destinations such as Barbados, St. Lucia, Jamaica, and the list goes on and on. All now host music festivals that specifically draw music lovers willing to plunk down thousands in visitor spend to hear their favorite songs. They're generally better heeled than other tourists, says industry research, and hour by hour spend more money. Unfortunately, The Bahamas has largely failed to create its own version of those multi-day, money-making events. Nassau's burgeoning Reggae fest is only picking up steam, although critics charge it misses the mark in terms of promoting the Bahamian brand and not that of Jamaica's. Wilchcombe, an opposition MP, says he's looking to see Grand Bahama develop its own unique version for an annual festival. He is not however offering a specific plan or in fact volunteering to lead that revenue-expanding initiative. Tuesday, June 30, 2009