By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Tourism launched its 2016 Junkanoo Carnival marketing campaign in Washington, DC, over the weekend, showcasing the anticipated event to thousands at the Travel Adventure Show.

Paulette Zonicle, Bahamas consul general to Washington, DC, said the event was just “one of many other avenues” the Ministry of Tourism is using to “put Junkanoo Carnival and the Bahamas out there.”

The promotion coincided with Jet Blue offering direct flights from Washington’s Reagan National Airport to the Lynden Pindling International Airport. The service will be offered daily until May 3.

Ms Zonicle said the response so far has been “so great” that she expects a “large grouping of persons” will travel to New Providence and Grand Bahama for this year’s Junkanoo Carnival.

“This is one of the largest shows in the region and so each year The Bahamas participates and it puts us out there. As consul general I am honoured to share this experience because it makes me even more excited about going back to the Bahamas because of the beauty. These shows generate a lot of response,” Ms Zonicle said.

“This market is peculiar in that a lot of people have liquid cash to spend and so we try to do these events to put us out there so they can spend their money in The Bahamas. This is the first time we are promoting Junkanoo Carnival in this area, last year they didn’t come. So this year we are excited they came to Washington to get people interested in Junkanoo Carnival. So we believe we are going to have a great grouping from the Metro area going into carnival this year.”

She added: “The interest level is so high . . . people love The Bahamas and our food. The dancers from Junkanoo Carnival being here really puts it on the world stage because last year was really just an introduction and now this year is going to another level.”

Area manager Gabrielle Archer said thousands of persons flocked to the Bahamas booth, something she hopes will turn into bookings.

“We saw thousands of people asking for information on The Bahamas and Junkanoo Carnival. We are obviously hoping it translates into 100 per cent of those persons coming but realistically we think that about 30 per cent will turn into bookings,” Ms Archer said.

“We launched our promotions for Junkanoo Carnival and the crowd loved it. They kept asking us about it. (Bahamian singer) Kiara Sherman performed and that drove even more people to the booth. We are really excited about how many persons were interested.”

Last week, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe said officials are still working to determine the budget for this year’s Junkanoo Carnival.

He insisted, however, that the price would be “several million dollars” less than last year’s festival, which cost about $11.3m.

Last year’s event was criticised because of government’s failure to break even or make a profit despite hailing the event as an economic stimulus and tourist attraction.

Junkanoo Carnival will take place on May 5-7 in New Providence, with a kick-off event from April 15-16 in Grand Bahama.