Jul 05

Tourism Corporation Bonaire lays the basis for the Tourism Master Plan

Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) is discussing the development of the Tourism Master Plan.

After coordination with the Public Entity of Bonaire, the coming months the content of the master plan will be determined. In addition to local stakeholders, experts outside of Bonaire will also deliver their input from different disciplines.

“Together with the local stakeholders we will start giving an interpretation to the sustainable growth of tourism and where we will take the special nature and culture of Bonaire into account and also contribute to an increase in welfare of the local residents and businesses. With the aim to further develop the good reputation of Bonaire as a top destination for international tourists, such as divers, wind surfers, leisure tourists and cruise passengers,” commented Mr. Maurice Adriaens.

 

Jul 05

Beautiful artpiece for our tourists

Students from Fundashon Forma from the study of Qualifying Labormarket Assistant (Arbeidsmarkt Kwalificerend Assistent) MBO level 1 had the opportunity from Tourism Corporation Bonaire to create an artpiece in Kralendijk.

This will be a beautiful attraction for both tourists and locals. The artpiece will be a nice place to take pictures which has the main characteristics that represent Bonaire.

To make this Project posible, the students had to design, plan and realize the whole process of this project. This Project was part of the class “Akshon & Tayer” where they have to execute different projects in groups to help them demonstrate the 9 abilities tied to their study.

Throughout this Project the students got the opportunity to express their talent and at the same time learn and develop their abilities which will form them into assistants who are qualified in the labor market. During this period the students dedicated their time to plan and execute, now they are proud to present the final Project for everyone on the island to enjoy. TCB gave a certificate of excellency to the students for their great performance.

The artpiece is located next to the entrance of the Pier Chico Mercelina, in front of the Wilhelmina Park. Tourism Corporation Bonaire is extremely happy with the final project and want to ask the whole community to please take care of it, because this is a nice place where tourists as well as locals can take pictures.

The students who helped in this Project are: Andruw Bernabela, Angel van Wordragen, Brayan Angela Valdez, Cassandra Malcolm Reid, Etienne Priest, Geomar Alberto, Jean-Carlos Leyba, Jordrick Arrindel, Juëlston Janga, Marionelis Serberie, Queen-Vianique Thom, Reuël Trenidad, Rudaisca Geerman, Valdemar Janga, Angie Albarracin Cuevas and Diego Albarracin Ibarra. A thank you goes as well to the teacher Mr. Dietrich Winklaar.

 

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Jul 05

Airlift committee visits to US legacy carriers deemed a success

A delegation from Bonaire comprised of Airlift Committee Chairman, Michael Nicolaas, CEO Bonaire International Airport, Maurice Adriaens, CEO Tourism Corporation Bonaire, Irene Dingjan, CEO BONHATA and Candice Adams Kimmel, the TCB Representative in North America, traveled to the US headquarters of the three legacy US airlines, Delta, United and American early in May.

Meetings were held with the Network Planning, Revenue Management and Sales Teams of all three carriers. The sessions with Delta and United focused on reinforcing our partnerships to maximize lift and explore opportunities for expansion, while discussions with American Airlines focused on the potential of starting service to Bonaire.

“We were gratified by the welcome extended to us by all three carriers” said Michael Nicolaas, Airlift Committee Chairman and CEO of the Bonaire International Airport. “Their commitment to spending the time with us and the warm, forthright nature of the discussions is a testament to Bonaire’s relationship with the carriers and our growing importance in the marketplace,” he concluded.

A short video and destination presentation highlighting Bonaire’s upcoming airport expansion, growing accommodation sector and product enhancements updated the airlines on the anticipated increase in demand for the island. Discussions on how each of the individual airlines would handle the growing demand followed.

Delta and United both confirmed their schedules going forward and noted that they had the flexibility to put a larger plane on the Bonaire route should demand warrant more inbound seats. They also revealed aircraft interior updates that included the installation of new slim line seats that would automatically increase the seat capacity of current planes by 12 to 19 seats.

At American Airlines, the Network Planning Team was very interested in the projected growth for Bonaire as outlined in an independent study commissioned by Bonaire International Airport, as well as the upcoming airport, accommodation and product innovations. American committed to evaluate the proposal for service put forth by the Airlift Committee and come back with their recommendations for moving forward.

Jul 05

Are you following us on Facebook and Instagram “TURISMO BONAIRE”?

The invitation to the fans to know Bonaire is permanent through our new platform Turismo Bonaire.  With beautiful advertising pieces and educational content, TCB-LA communicates with our audience in Latin America in Spanish and Portuguese on Facebook and Instagram. In July, Turismo Bonaire will be highlighting very popular people on Bonaire to let our fans meet them. This will be a great opportunity for our community to select them. Send us a short video 30 to 40 seconds – to know more about your personality. We are sure the amazing videos will receive many likes and shares from followers. Please send it to latinamerica@tourismbonaire.com

Last but not least, we are working on the August edition of our Bi-Monthly bulletin, which is now digital. Please provide us with the latest news in your company with a text of 529 characters and photo in high resolution. Please send it no later than Friday July 8th to Maribel Arcia at latinamerica@tourismbonaire.com

 

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Jul 05

Bonaire FB ad campaign in the occasion of ESCAPATE ABC Fair

From June 6 to 12, Bonaire FB ad campaign was directed to the Colombian market: 50% in Medellin and 50% in the cities of Cali, Barranquilla and Bogota obtaining the following results:

It ended with 345 new Fans, an interesting interaction of 8720 and an effective indicator of 3,62%. From the three ads posted below, the one with most likes was the underwater girl with 75% (259 Fans). And most important,  the total number of Fans on the Bonaire fan page went from 1018 to 1363. 67% of new fans are women and 33% men. 43% in the age group 25-34 followed by 37% between 35-44.  Regions that provided new Fans were:  Bogota (41%), Antioquia (29%), Valle del Cauca (18%) and Atlantic (12%).  92% viewed the campaign through Smart phones.

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Jul 05

Bonaire actively promoted in the Colombia market

The first edition of Escapate ABC Fair took place between June 10th to June 12th, at luxurious El Tesoro shopping mall in Medellin. The strategic main sponsors were Insel Air and UltraViajes/DestinoJet.com. UltraViajes is an operator with a miles plan alliance with BanColombia (one of the largest bank in the country), MasterCard, El Tiempo Newspaper (section Vivamos), Euro supermarket (350.000 clients) and active promotion on social media.

With a very nice set up concept, the three days touristic fair counted with 14 specialized travel agents located at different counters, selling packages to upscale consumers to Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. The special on air tickets were US$ 250 for either island and US$ 350 for those visitors who wanted to combine the three islands. Promotion valid to travel until December 15th. A beautiful 8 pages printed flyer was distributed at the show which had the special packages from our Hotels on island.

It was a great opportunity to promote Bonaire with sister islands Aruba and Curacao. Many visitors stopped at the Bonaire booth requesting information of Bonaire and were given the beautiful Bonaire booklet in Spanish. Ending the ABC Fair, TCB-LA agreed with UltraViajes to develop a Bonaire incentive program directed to its sales force.  Those actively selling Bonaire will be invited to the island on a fam trip. During the ABC Fair, an incentive price based on 3nights/4days stay, courtesy of Eden Beach, was awarded to the most efficient sales representative selling Bonaire at the show.

 

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Jul 05

Non-stop flights Venezuela-Bonaire promoted at AVAVIT

The 25th edition of Avavit trade show, took place on May 31st and June 1st at Eurobuilding Hotel in Caracas. The B2B leisure show gathered personalities of the tourism industry. The Minister of Tourism in Venezuela officially opened the event and visited the Bonaire booth.

The tourism fair was the platform for Bonaire to announce the strategic alliance with Sundance Air/Bon Sky and Wholesaler Candes Turismo Internacional, to improve airlift to Bonaire from the market of Venezuela. The news of direct flights to Bonaire created much interest among travel agents attending the show. Reliable connectivity continues being an influential factor to grow tourism to Bonaire from South America. Sundance Air is focused on targeting upscale corporate tourists that value the exclusivity of a direct flight to the island.  Sundance Air registered Bon Sky in Bonaire and actually offers charter services during holidays in Venezuela.

After her recent visit to Bonaire last April, Mrs. Consuelo Lugar Owner-Director of Candes Turismo, is enthusiastic to promote Bonaire counting with reliable airlift and competitive packages from the hotels. Candes  is a well known organization working for more than 35 years in the Venezuelan Tourism Industry.

The Bonaire 12 meters booth at Avavit show was eye catching with images showing the leisure and relax atmosphere Bonaire offers to its visitors. On Tuesday, a Dutch Embassy delegation attended an official invitation to visit the Bonaire booth at the show.  Mr. Hein Knegt, Head of Mission and Mrs. Mariana Núñez, Commercial and Cultural Advisor, were pleased with the news of the nonstop flights to Bonaire. He will give support to this important airlift project for the Island of Bonaire.

Ending Avavit, the promotion of Bonaire will continue. An ambitious Bonaire training program directed to travel agencies will start in Caracas, extending promotional efforts to key travel agencies located in the main cities of Venezuela. Reactivating tourism from Venezuela is one of the challenges TCB Latin America has focus on for 2016.

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Jul 05

Reserve your place at the Spring 2017 Trade Fairs

TCB has established the conditions for participating in the various European Trade Fairs in the Spring of 2017, such as:

  • Vakantiebeurs 10-15 January 2017
  • BOOT 21-29 January 2017
  • DuikVaker Houten 4-5 February 2017
  • ITB Berlin 8-12 March 2017

 

If you are interested in taking part in one or more trade fairs, please send an email no later than July 15th 2016 to europe@tourismbonaire.com and we’ll send you a registration form.

 

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Jul 05

Lots of PR for Bonaire in Europe

The Bonaire PR machine is running in overdrive. In April, May and June, several new articles were published in the context of the year-round campaigns agreed upon with Vogue, Margriet and Duiken magazines. A great article also appeared in de Volkskrant in June, together they’re good for a reach of 17 million contacts. A number of different press publications are planned for the coming months. If you’re interested in reading the various articles, send an email to europe@tourismbonaire.com and you’ll receive the different press publications from us.

 

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Jul 05

Leading dive magazines visit Bonaire

The countless dive possibilities on Bonaire have also been in the spotlight this year.  Various leading dive magazines from the Netherlands, Belgium and France visited our island these past months.

Onderwatersport, the membership magazine of the Netherlands Underwater Sport Federation, visited Bonaire in April and will be publishing its editorial articles shortly.

Hippocampus, the membership magazine of the Belgian Diving Federation, visited Bonaire in April and has meanwhile discussed various articles with us, which will be published in the coming months.

Duiken magazine is in the process of finalizing its editorial and video items. They will be published in the new Bonaire special and on social media.

If you are interested in reading the various articles, send an email to europe@tourismbonaire.com and we’ll send you the different press publications.

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Jul 05

Spotlight on 80 years of KLM & Bonaire

It was 80 years ago in May that KLM started flying to Bonaire. That’s why in May 2016 KLM included the island of Bonaire in numerous promotional activities in the Netherlands, such as banners on the KLM homepage and various news bulletins sent to travel agents in the Netherlands. Bonaire was prominently in the spotlight for five days during the nationwide special promotion “5 Days Special Offers at KLM” launched in late May. Consumers were able to book a return ticket from Amsterdam to Bonaire and back starting at €499.

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Jul 05

TripAdvisor 2016 Premium Destination Partnership Program

In January 2015, TCB-NA launched their first Tourism Bonaire Sponsorship and Co-op Advertising Program with TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website with over 350 million reviews and 103+ million members.

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In January 2016, the new, annual program with TripAdvisor was rolled out. Renamed The Premium Destination Partnership, the program offers Bonaire and its partners the opportunity to create and distribute targeted content throughout more pages within the destination’s pages on TripAdvisor and added new and expanded components.

The Bonaire Home Page showcases native advertising including photos, videos, direct links to websites, social media, links to special promotions and events listing. Co-op partners maintain a presence on Bonaire’s home page with their banners and other promotional offerings. Along with TripAdvisor’s benefits, co-op partners also have a dedicated slider on TCB’s website (home page), dedicated e-blasts to TCB’s consumer databases and social media posts, and frequent mentions in all weekly e-blasts to consumers.

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The campaign is keeping Bonaire “top of mind” among travelers and performing well with a CTR of .26%.  Bonaire currently has 39,391 reviews and opinions.

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Jul 05

TCB-North America Hosts U.S. Journalists during the 2nd Annual Bonaire Cuisine Month

As part of the Bonaire Cuisine Month program, TCB-North America and a variety of tourism stakeholders hosted a group of three top cuisine travel writers/social media influencers on a press visit to the island, May 13-18, 2016. Participants of the group included freelancers Kristen Kent with the Toronto Star, Grace Lentini with About.com Caribbean and social media influencer Gillie Houston.

The press trip was organized to raise the profile of Bonaire’s culinary product and to showcase its diversity to Bonaire’s visitors. Throughout the week, the group wined and dined at participating Bonaire Cuisine Month restaurants, and enjoyed a variety of excursions. #BonaireEats was the official hashtag for Bonaire Cuisine Month. The writers’ posted live to their social media channels during their trip. To view some of their posts visit #BonaireEats.

TCB-North America would like to thank those in the private sector who sponsored Bonaire Cuisine Month and also provided complimentary services to the press group:  At Sea Restaurant, Barrel Wine Bar Bonaire, The Beach Hut, Between 2 Buns, Bistro de Paris, Blennies at Buddy Dive Resort, The Cadushy Distillery, Coco Beach Bar,  Eden Beach Resort, Elements Jewelry, Flamingo Balashi Beach Bar, Ingridients at Buddy Dive ResortKarel’s Beach Bar, La Cantina, Posada Para Mira, Rancho Washikemba, RoadRunner Bonaire, Sorobon Beach Resort, Spice Beach Club at Eden Beach Resort, Woodwind Snorkel Sail.

Jul 05

Introducing the Bonaire Villa Collection

TCB-North America launched their newest program this spring, the Bonaire Villa Collection. Featuring the finest villas on Bonaire, the Collection signals that Bonaire has a luxury product to offer the most discerning visitor, who often defines luxury not only in terms of a quality accommodation, but in terms of authentic, curated experiences and personalized preferences that make travelers feel at home while on vacation.

Properties participating in the Bonaire Villa Collection offer premium amenities including, but not limited to; daily maid service, house delivery of dive tanks/gear, access to private chef, dedicated concierge service, complimentary WiFi, turndown service and more. To stay current with the Bonaire Villa Collection, and view the list of villa participants visit www.tourismbonaire.com/bvc, and follow @BonaireTourism on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and #BonaireVillas.

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Jul 05

Bonaire one of TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice winners

Tourism Corporation Bonaire is also proud to announce that Bonaire was awarded one of the top 10 destinations in the Caribbean by travelers around the world on TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice winners are based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions on TripAdvisor from travelers around the world.  The Travelers’ Choice award-winners were determined based on the quality and quantity of traveler reviews and ratings for destinations on TripAdvisor gathered over a 12-month period.

 

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Jul 05

Media Buzz About Bonaire

Conde Nast Traveler: 4.8 million unique monthly visitors (UMV)

Entitled “10 Best Places for Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties,” Bonaire is listed as one of the top 10 places in the world to host a bachelor bachelorette party. The articles showcases Bonaire as being the ideal Caribbean destination as it offers the spirit of the Caribbean without the clamor of more frequented islands. To read this article click here.

Montecristo Magazine: 186,000 monthly circulation

Bonaire is featured in the June 2016 issue of Montecristo magazine. Entitled “Bonaire: Fine Diving, Fine Dining,” Kent’s article highlights Bonaire as being known as the shore diving capital of the Caribbean, but is also emerging into a culinary paradise. To read this article click here.

About.com Travel: 90 million UMV

Entitled “Bonaire, A Nature lover’s Dream,” the article highlights Bonaire’s nature and wildlife including birdwatching in Washington Slagbaai National Park, snorkeling with sea turtles and flamingo sightseeing at Goto Meer. To read this article click here.

TravelPulse: 123,978 monthly circulation

Entitled “7 Reasons Why Bonaire Should Be on Your Bucket List,” Bonaire is featured in the June 3 online edition of TravelPulse. The article highlights Bonaire’s beaches, scenery, new Courtyard Marriott and located outside the hurricane belt as just some of the reasons why Bonaire should be at the top of travelers bucket lists. To read this article click here.

Caribbean Journal: 1.5 million monthly pageviews

United’s Sunday non-stop flight from Newark to Bonaire is featured in the June 15 issue of Caribbean Journal. The article highlights that this is United’s second non-stop flight out of Newark, and is accompanied by images of the island. To read this article click here.

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Mar 18

The Tourism Corporation Bonaire welcomes new Director of Tourism

The Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) is pleased to announce the appointment of the new Director of Tourism, Mr. Maurice Adriaens.

It is a privilege for me to have been appointed the new Director of Tourism for Tourism Corporation Bonaire and I am looking forward to working with all of the TCB’s offices, Trade partners and Bonaire’s private sector to maintain and further expand the island’s reputation as a global destination for world-class scuba diving, windsurfing, cruise and leisure tourism.

The past five years he served as the Managing Director of Curacao Airport Holding and was responsible for the oversight of the airport of Curacao and for the development of the area around the airport into an airport city. He was instrumental in developing the plans for the renovation of the terminal building that will be concluded by 2018. He also worked in collaboration with the Curacao Tourist Board to get airlift from Brazil (GOL), Germany (Air Berlin) and the US (JetBlue). During a period of four years, Mr. Adriaens was Member of the Board of the Curacao Hospitality and Tourism Association (CHATA).

Mar 18

Bonaire will receive second non-stop flight from Newark

Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) is pleased to announce that starting June 12, 2016 United Airlines will offer a second non-stop flight from Newark to Bonaire every Sunday.

The southbound Bonaire flight will depart Newark International Airport (EWR) on Sunday at 9:00am, arriving in Bonaire International Airport (BON) at 1:45pm. The northbound return flight will depart BON at 2:45pm, and arrive at EWR at 7:50pm. The Sunday non-stop flight is slated to run through August 2016.

In addition to the Sunday flight, United Airlines will still offer their Saturday non-stop service from EWR to BON. The southbound United flight UA1422 will depart EWR every Saturday at 9:00 am, and arrive at BON 1:45 pm. The northbound United flight UA1420 will depart BON every Saturday at 2:45 pm, and arrive at EWR 7:50 pm.

Mar 17

Social media platforms for each region

Each overseas office has their own social media platform since January 2016. This will help each region in promoting more directly to their visitors. We have the North American Facebook, Twitter and Instagram which post daily in English. You can find them @BonaireTourism. The South American Facebook and Instagram which post daily in Spanish and Portuguese. They can be found @TurismoBonaire. And also the European Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with daily posts in Dutch, which can be found @BonaireToerisme. Follow the social media platforms and stay up to date with what Bonaire has to offer and find more information about the island.

Mar 17

Save the date for this year’s Taste of Bonaire events

Taste of Bonaire is organized by the Tourism Corporation Bonaire. Everyone gets the opportunity to taste and experience what the Bonairean culture is truly all about. Come and experience our Food, Music & Art; these are among the cultural influences that have built the foundation for the ever popular “Taste of Bonaire”.

Taste of Bonaire Dates 2016:taste_of_bonaire_logo_final_hires

May 28, 2016

June 25, 2016

July 30, 2016

August 27, 2016

September 24, 2016

Mar 17

Tourism Corporation Bonaire organizes the Bonaire Cuisine Months

Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) will be organizing once again the Bonaire Cuisine Months program, which is slated to run in the months of May and June 2016. The program was designed to showcase the varied selections of culinary treasures that Bonaire proudly offers its visitors, but as well the locals.

Participating restaurants will offer customized promotions throughout the month of May and June. The specials will include prix-fixe menus, signature cocktails and happy hour specials. Additional cuisine related activities consist of a media visit comprised of top food bloggers/social media influencers and the Taste of Bonaire event. The first Taste of Bonaire will take place on May 28th, 2016.

To stay current with Bonaire Cuisine Months’ activities follow @BonaireTourism on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TripAdvsior and #BonaireEats.

Mar 16

Meridian also popular with travel agents

Meridian Travel is a well-known travel platform (online and offline) in the Netherlands. Last November, journalist Nico de Boer went on a press trip to Bonaire with the aim of informing tourists (particularly those in the still strongly growing Dutch leisure market) about this multifaceted island: there is a lot to explore and experience on the island of Bonaire, which makes it a very interesting destination for leisure vacation.

The result was a nine-page article (and a cover mention) in the January issue (published on December 30th, 2015). Meridian Travel has a reach of some 5 million people through subscribers and 30,000 magazine packages in locations such as waiting rooms.

Furthermore, a Business-to-Business marketing promotion was launched in early February and a copy was sent to our major business contacts. In addition, we approached our trade base (tour operators, airlines, travel agencies and online travel agents) via webmail, announcing the article and mentioning that a (free) copy could be requested from Meridian Travel. More than 100 copies were requested and thus it was “sold out” within just two days.

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Mar 16

More tour operators sell Bonaire

It’s important for Bonaire that a sufficient number of good resellers in Europe have Bonaire in their program. Especially when people visit Bonaire for the first time, it is of great importance that they receive good advice from a travel agent. TCB has again updated its entire tour operator database and it’s available to Bonaire accommodation providers who want to increase their sales contacts in the European market. Send an email to europe@tourismbonaire.com and you’ll receive an Excel file, complete with names, email addresses and telephone numbers.

Mar 16

Dive market campaign in the Netherlands

Bonaire is in the spotlight this spring. In the coming months, four leading dive magazines from the Netherlands, Belgium and France will be visiting Bonaire. Duiken magazine, market leader in the Netherlands and Belgium, will be producing new articles in April, as well as short video clips, so-called “vlogs”. These will also be used in TCB’s social media in the Dutch market.

Onderwatersport, the membership magazine of the Netherlands Underwater Sport Federation (Nederlandse Onderwatersport Bond), will visit Bonaire in April and publish its editorial articles in the course of 2016.

Hippocampus, the membership magazine of the Belgian Diving Federation (Belgische Duikfederatie) will be visiting Bonaire in the spring and is planning to publish a variety of articles. What’s more, the magazine will also use its social media to write about Bonaire.

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Mar 16

Beautiful Bonaire in Vogue campaign

TCB has entered into a collaboration with Vogue Netherlands in order to actively pursue the upper segment of the leisure market in the Netherlands. Vogue was so enthusiastic about the collaboration that the magazine decided to send an international production team to Bonaire and to book the Dutch top model Romee Strijd for the production. An exceptional collaboration with a tourism agency that received a lot of positive attention in the press (Antilliaans Dagblad, Travelpro, Trav magazine, etc.).

Vogue has a circulation of nearly 70,000 printed copies (284,000 readers) and a high online reach: 500,000 unique visitors, 133,000 Facebook fans, 22,000 newsletter subscribers, 77,000 Twitter followers and 83,000 Instagram followers.

TCB-Europe is developing a large-scale, integrated marketing campaign that will give Bonaire ongoing attention in Vogue magazine and enable Bonaire to expand its target audience and also give TCB-Europe the opportunity to develop a wide range of promotions for both consumers and business-to-business partners. Everything that was covered during their stay on Bonaire will be seen in the different editions of Vogue Netherlands (March through October 2016), so we can approach Dutch tourists and our trade partners with enticing Bonaire information and promotions.

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