Thursday, December 10, 2009

Home National Sports Business Lifestyles Religion Arts & Culture Pulse Spice Editorial letters Opinion Foodie Sportscope Real Talks Weekend Report PDF's Classifieds Contact About Us Archive Weather

Ugly Betty to bolster tourism By Scott Armstrong ~ Guardian Business Editor ~ scott@nasguard.com: Tourism in The Bahamas is set to get another dose of major free publicity as the hit comedy Ugly Betty, which recently filmed here in the islands, prepares to air in the US. The primetime program pulls in more than 4.5 million viewers in the US and a further 2 million in the UK alone, and its season finale airs in America this Friday. Filmed in The Bahamas, particularly at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, the program could see viewing numbers rise even further with Latin American pop siren Shakira making a guest appearance. Titled "The Bahamas Triangle" the show is expected to drive interest in The Bahamas at a key time as the holiday season approaches and families consider getting away for some sun. Minister for Tourism and Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said: "This is not a one-off effort, for many years now we have people who work with PR agencies to promote The Bahamas and identify opportunities for program makers to come here. "We have had some real success with this, people are often astonished if you show them a show reel of all the programs The Bahamas has appeared in. This is the latest example of that. "The timing of this is fortuitous coming as it does near the Christmas travel market, we don't control that but it is a happy coincidence. "We will continue to work with Atlantis, and any other properties across The Bahamas, to promote any such opportunity." Monday, November 30, 2009