 Entre Nous is the monthly newsletter from the Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB), Netherlands Antilles. In this newsletter you will find the accomplishments of TCB in Bonaire, North America, South America and Europe as well as the newest developments within the tourism industry. We hope that you will read it with pleasure and if you have something that you think is relevant for the tourism sector to know just fax it to 717-8408 or e-mail to: info@tourismbonaire.com.
One of the highlights was the presentation of the 2007 Golden Flamingo Awards. We have selected a number of our industry partners whose positive contributions have helped the island of Bonaire to achieve its goals of positive growth while maintaining our focus on the environment. This year we recognized: Airline of the Year American Eagle The special awards presentation ceremony took place on November 1, 2007 during DEMA Show 2007 in Orlando, Florida at a special Golden Flamingo Awards Ceremony. The 2007 recipients were determined by a vote of the public and private sector tourism stakeholders. he attendance for the travel symposium sponsored by Bonaire was also a highlight this year. While attendance was adversely affected by weather, the attendees were given presentations given by Candice Kimmel, Jack Chalk, Ronella Croes and Burney el Hage The main thrust of the presentation was on; “Activities That Fit the Environmental Interest of the Baby Boomers.” and on “Promoting Diving through Interactive Historic and Cultural Experiences.” Candice discussed the baby boomers as Bonaire’s target market, talking about how we saw the trends played out in our research. She also spoke about the Scuba Tour sponsorship into the research part of reaching the baby boomers as parents and grandparents of the kids who try the pool. Candice also elaborated on Dive Into Summer 2008, whereby everybody was informed of two particular highlights ; International Year of the Reef Week in conjunction with CORAL Reef Alliance, and Love Our Planet Week also in conjunction with CORAL Reef Alliance. Jack elaborated on the importance of the environment (and protecting it) in marketing Bonaire in general and from a resort’s point of view. As a board member of STINAPA, he talked about both parks and how the protection of the environment is integral to preserving the product we sell. He also spoke about “Activities that fit the environmental interest of the baby boomers” from his position of the host hotel of Love our Planet Week and a long time host hotel of the Dive Festival. My topic the new branding for Bonaire with the emphasis on the importance of the culture and history by transitioning into the evolution of the branding and website as an extension of Bonaire’s culture, history and people. Commissioner el Hage closed Bonaire’s presentation to key dive retailers by stressing on the government’s commitment to the industry and to maintaining its philosophy “Growth while maintaining nature and culture”. He thanked the key players for their support, among other some present; Jack Chalk and Jerry Beaty. The Commissioner highlighted steps that the government has taken to support the philosophy, steps taken more than 20 years ago. “It is not easy, but Bonaire and its government are committed to it”. Thank you all for making Bonaire shine at this year’s DEMA! To check out new Bonaire Ambassadors. please visit: www.bonaireambassador.com
The special action ‘Books for Bonaire’, launched on September 27, turned out to be a huge succes! The action calls for people to give books to the library on Bonaire, so they will have a greater and more up-to-date database of books. The many positive responses resulted in more than seven boxes of books already received! The promotion of the action is focused on offline as well as online. With interviews at several radiostations, newsletters, press releases and the website www.boekenvoorbonaire.nl, TCB Europe will do anything to increase the number of books for Bonaire. Due to all this succes, the action was extended to November 10, 2007. Their will also be a special edition of our 6-weekly e-newsletter to our dutch e-mail database to inform everybody the action will be running until the 10th of november. (Click on one of the images to enlarge)
Positive responses for the TUI Roadshow In association with tourism offices of Aruba and Curacao and a few of Bonaire’s accommodations, TCB Europe has held three evenings of presentations, specially organised for Tour Operators connected to Holland International/TUI. The result? About 200 Tour Operators have been informed about Bonaire. And the responses on the presentations were very positive! The participating accommodations from Bonaire were: Plaza Resort Bonaire, Divi Flamingo Beach Resort, Captain Don’s Habitat, Carribean Club, Belmar Oceanfront and Buddy Dive Resort. TCB mentioned in two viral games Tourism Corporation Bonaire provided the main prizes in two viral games: Menzis MisMatch and Crash Dummy, introduced by AnderZorg. Participants to these games can win a trip to Bonaire. KLM will fly the lucky winners to Bonaire. You’ll find the games at www.menzis.nl/mismatch and www.anderzorg.nl/dummy.
Bonaire Makes it’s Mark at DEMA Show 2007 From the co-sponsorship of the Pre-DEMA Show Workshop “Diver Acquisition Using Dive Travel” to the impressive Bonaire Pavilion and sponsorship of DEMA’s Scuba Tour, Bonaire had a strong presence at DEMA Show 2007. For information on Bonaire’s hotels, dive centers and activities, travel packages, Show-only deals and more, attendees stopped by the Bonaire Pavilion on the Show floor where they were personally greeted by BONHATA’s Marion Wilson and TCB-NYC’s Sarah Biggerstaff. In addition to being a stop on the Show-wide Treasure Hunt, the Pavilion featured its own Bonaire Pavilion Treasure Hunt with a daily grand prize of a free stay for two people at one of Bonaire’s dive resorts.
Bonaire Presents 2007 Golden Flamingo Awards
The recipients of the Golden Flamingo Awards 2007 were: Airline of the Year American Eagle The special awards presentation ceremony took place on November 1, 2007 during DEMA Show 2007 in Orlando, Florida at a special Golden Flamingo Awards Ceremony. Evette Negron from American Eagle, Christine Grange from PADI Travel Network, and Scott Jones from DiveNewswire as well as “Person of the Year” Tim Webb were on hand to personally receive the Awards. The 2007 recipients were determined by a vote of the public and private sector tourism stakeholders. The Golden Flamingo Award sculptures were hand-crafted on Bonaire and generously donated by the artist, Ms. Janice Huckaby, owner of JanArt. Delta Announces Added Flight for High Season Delta Air Lines just announced that they’ve added a second weekly flight to Bonaire on Wednesdays March 5-April 9, 2008! Like the Saturday flight which commences February 9, 2008, the flight to Bonaire (DL371) departs weekly at 10:00 a.m. and arrives in Bonaire at 3:10 p.m. (2:10 p.m. at the end of Daylight Savings Time). The return flight (DL370) departs Bonaire weekly at 4:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m. at the end of Daylight Savings Time) and arrives in Atlanta at 7:55 p.m.
As part of the ongoing press release program, Adams Unlimited researches, writes and prepares a steady stream of releases for mailings to the media for applicable editorial coverage based on editorial calendars and the need to disseminate timely news. In October one press release was written and distributed to the media. The release featured information about Bonaire’s presence at DEMA Show 2007 including sponsorship of the Pre-Show Workshop “Diver Acquisition Using Dive Travel,” the Bonaire Pavilion, participation in the DEMA Show Treasure Hunt, the Bonaire Pavilion treasure hunt. We confirmed the press visit of Judith Ritter, who visited the island October 27-November 3 on assignment from Canada’s National Post newspaper (circulation 203,780). Additionally, Judith was gathering information for other publications that she freelances for including NPR, University World News and South China Morning Post, among others. We confirmed and followed up with Jad Davenport, who visited the island on a press visit September 30-October 7 on assignment from Sport Diver magazine (circulation 220,000) to document a group of astronauts from NASA scuba diving in Bonaire. We confirmed and followed up with Eric Lucas, who visited the island on a press visit October 17-23 on assignment from Texas Journey Magazine (circulation 718,000) and New Mexico Journey (circulation 102,000), and was gathering information for other possible articles. We followed up with Christine Goodier who attended the 40th Annual Bonaire International Sailing Regatta on assignment for All At Sea Magazine. All At Sea is distributed free in the United States and over 450 locations throughout the Caribbean and has a circulation of more than 40,000. News of Delta Air Lines Bonaire Service Topping Headlines! Chicago Tribune (circulation 566,827) The Sunday Oregonian (circulation 375,913) Press-Enterprise (CA) Newspapers (combined circulation 292,123) River View Observer (circulation 120,505)
Promoting Bonaire in Equator Oct 02nd and 3rd
TCB SA feels confident with this new approach to the Equadorian market. Mayortur is one of the official tour operators for KLM. The recent presentations together with the press fam and fam trips done on island are part of a marketing strategy to better position Bonaire in this important touristic market. Bolsa Turistica Medellin trade show, Colombia From September 26th to the 28th, the island of Bonaire was promoted in the Dutch Antilles Express booth at the trade show "Bolsa Turistica de Medellin". During the event, general information of the island was distributed among the travel agents meanwhile the DVD was played. DAE is flying twice a week between Curaçao and Bogotá with the Fokker 100 capacity 100 seats www.flydae.com Contacting again the Brazilian market!
Bonaire Presentation during Boat Show - Oct 07th
The improvement of the airlift, the strong Brazilian currency to the dollar, tour operators committed with Bonaire, attractive and competitive packages and very important opinion leaders as Alcides Falanghe and Ary Amarante with their press releases in prestigious diving magazines, have made possible to have Bonaire as one of the Brazilian diving destinations. The official presentation ended with the traditional raffle, a week on island with unlimited shore diving included, courtesy of SunRentals. The winner was a divemaster from the Scuba Point, a diving school bringing groups to Bonaire all year.An important magazine directed to the tourism industry (with a print run of 100.000). As requested by main tour operators, the Bonaire Delegation met with the sales team to know more about the magazine, its target and how effective could be to reach the diving sector .. our main focus in Brazil. The BHG group showed interest to advertise in 2008 together with TCB and tour operators with a small size ad in co op. After meeting with the sales department, we were introduced to its journalists who were very impressed with Bonaire promising to come soon to the island.Divers from Brazil and Venezuela keep coming! The last holidays of the year are a perfect escape for divers to come to Bonaire. During October and November, we have noticed on island groups of divers coming from the two main markets from South America. And what is most important, the big diving schools keep coming with more and more groups. Caracas, Venezuela - Bonaire Tennis Cup - Nov 03rd, 04th, 10th, 11th. (click here for the flyer)
This is the first such survey system available for Bonaire and can be a productive tool for local companies to conduct market research, receive customer satisfaction comments, or simply poll popular opinion. Surveys can be customized to the clients’ needs, and can be either hosted on the bonairesurveys.com site or embedded into other existing web sites. Results are automatically and immediately tabulated and can be viewed by the public or kept private for the entity requesting the data. Surveys may run for a specified amount of time or can run for an unlimited term. Current surveys available to the public consist of polls for the most popular airline for getting to Bonaire, Bonaire’s favorite dive sites, as well as the opinions of repeat visitors regarding the island’s trend to increase cruise tourism. Interested parties may submit their opinions by visiting bonairesurveys.com, and choosing their survey of choice. Any entity interested in having a survey conducted may contact NetTech, N.V. by e-mailing info@nettech.an to learn more about options and pricing.
Bonaire Wellness Connexions announces next mountain bike race which has been planned for December 2, 2007. Our goal is to create more local sport events for people of all ages and abilities who wish to compete. We aim at growing the sport of mountain biking on the island. Race Course
Categories
Entry Fees Note: Participation fee includes drinks and fruits as well Registrations Event Timeline: Sunday December 2, 2007 Questions
Note: Jan-Apr Harvest Period (C,E+T) (H)= Holiday Back to the top
To unsubscribe or subscribe, go to http://www.bonaireentrenous.com
Page hosted and maintained by BITS bv |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It was a busy time at DEMA this year despite the soft attendance. I would like to thank everyone who worked on the pavilion, especially Marion who worked diligently to make our participation a success. 
On October 30, 2007 the Tourism Corporation Bonaire along with the participating exhibitors of the Bonaire Pavilion co-sponsored the DEMA Pre-Show Workshop, “Diver Acquisition Using Dive Travel.” Providing dive travel retailers with the tools necessary to use dive travel as a means of reaching non-divers, the workshop included a destination presentation featuring Bonaire’s Commissioner of Tourism, Burney el Hage, Director of Tourism, Ronella Croes, Jack Chalk, General Manager of Captain Don’s Habitat and Candice Kimmel from TCB-NYC. Information presented focused on Bonaire’s environmental initiatives, new branding and consumer website, continued sponsorship of The Scuba Tour and Bonaire Dive Into Summer 2008.
Honoring select industry partners that have contributed positively to Bonaire on November 1, 2007 Bonaire presented its Second Annual Golden Flamingo Awards. 
October’s issue of Bonaire EZ News was distributed to our database of consumers and travel agents on the 25th of the month. The issue featured fall and winter hotel packages from Bonaire’s resorts, condominiums, guesthouses and small inns.
In October one press release was distributed on Dive Newswire featuring information about Bonaire’s presence at DEMA Show 2007 including sponsorship of the Pre-Show Workshop “Diver Acquisition Using Dive Travel,” the Bonaire Pavilion, participation in the DEMA Show Treasure Hunt, the Bonaire Pavilion treasure hunt. The press release was posted to the site and distributed on October 24. Dive Newswire is distributed electronically to more than 6,000 dive shop owners, manufacturers as well as media outlets.
Invited by KLM and the tour operator Mayortur, TCB together with a small delegation travelled to the cities of Guayaquil and Quito promoting the island of Bonaire and the hotels Buddy Dive, Belmar, Caribbean Club, Bonaire Ocean Front and Rochaline. 
During the event, two diving schools were invited to participate and visit Bonaire. "Ecuadive" from Guayaquil and "Exploramar Diving" from Quito. Both very motivated to promote diving packages to Bonaire.
Ending the promotion of Bonaire in Equador, our delegation travelled from Quito to Sao Paulo. They participated at the "Boat Show" on dates Oct 04th to the 10th. Yasmin from TCB together with Josie & Muys (Bonaire Ocean Front) and Martien Van del Valk and the divemaster "Lala" from Brazil (Buddy Dive, Belmar, Caribbean Club), as expositors attended the diving schools visiting the Bonaire booth. Plaza Resort was represented by Adventure Travel, Brazil. At the event also as expositors, were present the tour operator Adventure Travel and the diving schools Scafo and Scuba Point. 
At the booth Vectra, Adventure and Arribatur promoted their packages to Bonaire with the Avianca flights via Bogotá to Aruba or Curacao with a good connection with DAE to Bonaire. Also divers were asking about flights with the airline TAM via Caracas for the convenience of miles very attractive for the Brazilians, and the air operation with Insel Air via Manaus to Aruba or Curacao, could make possible to reach diving schools from new cities in Brazil.
With more than 40 divers, the presentation was simply excellent. Alcides Falanghe from Mergulho magazine gave an amazing Bonaire slide show that was very popular among all. Followed by the official presentation of the island carried out by Yasmin from TCB, thanking all for the commitment and enthusiasm selling Bonaire. Paulo de Tharso from Tripping and Sandro from Arribatur, talked about their nice experience in Bonaire and how easy is now to get to Bonaire. 
Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, October 16, 2007: NetTech, N.V. today announced the unveiling of a new on-line service, Bonaire Surveys.™ This new product, accessible at 
Directions: The race will take place in the area of Yatu Baku, behind the neighborhood of Amboina. The easiest way to get there is by following Kaya Nikiboko Noord (road to More for Less supermarket from town) till the end, then you can follow the signs (arrows) that we will place along the road. More information about the race course can be found online on www.bonairewellness.com
