By INDERIA SAUNDERS, Guardian Business Desk

If there was ever any doubt about where The Bahamas stood in the minds of UK residents, a tour operator said it best when explaining their cancellations to this destination.

"Unfortunately, a lack of demand for Bahamas holidays has greatly decreased the profitability of this destination," said a First Choice Holiday spokeswoman, referring to a company decision to discontinue its summer-only Bahamas travel program.

On the other hand, demand for vacations in neighboring Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Barbados seem to still be there, with travel plans for those destinations still on schedule.

"As is usual business practice for any tour operator, First Choice continually evaluates the performance of its destinations, ensuring that it understands where it is performing well," said the representative.

And the message is clear: The Bahamas is challenged in it quest to be the place Brits want to visit. First Choice's flights, once every two weeks and departing from Manchester to Nassau, will cease at the end of the summer season in October. It featured five properties in the program.

The news comes on the heels of comments from Tourism officials, suggesting a newly invigorated marketing campaign targeting UK travelers has now been launched. Hopes for improving the numbers coming out of the UK market were also pinned on the success of First Choice.

Tourism was in fact banking on the UK tour operator to boost visitor arrivals from that nation with its twice monthly runs operating through the normally slow summer season. The increased airlift would have alleviated some of the pressure now on British Airways, which flies five times a week to Nassau, and diversified options for Brits interested in Bahamas vacations.

Winning that kind of success now is made all the more important given the newfound wealth of Brits holding pounds now double the value of the greenback. However, according to data provided by the Ministry of Tourism, The Bahamas experienced an 11.4 percent dip in UK visitors for the first half of the year, down by 2,194 visitors for the same period a year earlier.

There is speculation, however, that many of these visitors are going to nearby destinations. The U.S., in particular seems to have struck while the British iron was hot. In fact, new U.S. tourism numbers are pointing to an 11 percent increase in the number of UK visitors to the States in May, alone. This year nearly 1.8 million people have visited the U.S. from Britain, eight percent more than the same period last year. Nearby competitor, Miami, in particular, has seen a four percent growth in its visitor numbers this summer, owing to increased traffic from across the pond, which has more than compensated for any falloff in out-of-state U.S. visitors.