NASSAU, Bahamas -- The Islands of The Bahamas made a bid to boost its $300 million dive business by recruiting 50 dive retailers from around the world to become advocates for diving in the country’s waters.

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation and the Bahamas Diving Association partnered to bring the retailers, which include a 12-member Brazilian contingent and two retailers from Hong Kong, to the Bahamas for a three-day diving experience.  The guests were split into teams that visited various dive sites including spots around New Providence, Andros and Bimini.

David Johnson, deputy director general of Tourism, welcomed the group and pointed out that their visit should prepare them to speak more intimately about the Bahamas’ dive product.  The Ministry of Tourism and the BDA hope it will also result in increased sales of the country’s diving product.

“I know that you will get to explore the great diversity of dive sites,” said Mr. Johnson. “You will find that they are as diversified as Neil Watson (BDA president) and his colleagues have told you.”

Members of the Brazilian contingent were certain that the diving in the Bahamas could attract many Brazilian divers.  In many cases, Brazilians can travel to Florida and the Bahamas for a dive experiences that cost them less than if they had stayed in Brazil for diving, said Ana Paula Gatti, corporate accounts executive for American Airlines in Brazil.

“We give them such a good fare (to Florida and the Bahamas) that it is much cheaper,” Ms. Gatti said. “And it is much better. They get to know a new country, a new culture, and the people love shopping.”

Ms. Gatti pointed out that American Airlines has done much to make it easy to travel between Brazil and the Bahamas.  The airline has four flights per day from Brazil to its main hub of Miami, where there are convenient connections to Bahamian islands.  When the high season rolls in, American will add another three flights per day out of Brazil to Miami.

The combination of good airlift, a dive business that grows at about 14 percent per year in Brazil, and American Airline’s new ScubAA Club in Brazil should contribute in a healthy way to diving in the Bahamas, Ms. Gatti believed.

Alcides Falanghe, a director of Bazil’s top dive magazine, Mergulho (Diving), was in Nassau for the dive trip and to write an article on the experience.  He believed the article and the right economic conditions in Brazil would benefit the Bahamas dive tourism.

“Diving is growing so much in Brazil,” he said.  “The economy is good, and people are travelling so much abroad.”

Mr. Falanghe pointed out that the Bahamas is known for having a great variety of dive experiences, including wreck dives, shark dives and wall dives.  He was eager to let his readers know more about each scenario.

“You have everything just a few minutes from the shore,” he said.

Neil Watson of the BDA promised the dive retailers that they would discover the Bahamas to be a unique diving product.

“All of you are seasoned travelers,” he told the group. “You know there are great destinations with great dive products both topside and on the bottom.  But a lot of them, they have that one product.  The Bahamas is unique simply because of the geography.  You have over 100,000 square miles reaching over 500 miles north and south, 700 islands.”

Mr. Watson said they would become acquainted with a variety of dive experiences in the Islands of The Bahamas. 

Photo: The organizers of the dive familiarization trip are pictured.  From left are Carlton Sands, Ministry of Tourism; Glenda Johnson, Ministry of Tourism; Neil Watson, BDA; Karen Wring, Ministry of Tourism; Earl Miller, Ministry of Tourism; William Cline, BDA and Richard Treco, Ministry of Tourism.