By Natario McKenzie

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Bowl’s future will be determined by its promotional value and the number of “heads in beds” it generates, a Cabinet minister has confirmed.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, pictured, minister of tourism and aviation, argued that the game’s success could not be based on local attendance alone as the end of its contract with The Bahamas nears.

“What is all of it worth, and whether we are getting a good deal, is the question,” he told Tribune Business. “When we evaluate whether to continue or not it will be based on what value this game is bringing to the destination and how many heads in beds we get as a result of the game here.

“Bahamians, unfortunately, judge the success of the Bowl by the number of people in the stadium. If you do that you might conclude it’s not successful. The purpose of the game, first and foremost, is not to attract Bahamians to the stadium. The objective was to get heads in beds and bring exposure to the destination. That is the primary focus of that game.

“People keep asking why we continue with this undertaking when only so many people show up to the game. Firstly, we’re in a five-year contract which was started by my predecessor. We’re still under the terms of that agreement and I think we have one more year.”

Speaking of this year’s Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl, Mr D’Aguilar said: “From an operational standpoint the Bowl went very well. It was executed very well and ran very smoothly. The game was also extremely exciting. From a tourism standpoint we’re extremely pleased. Our intention is bringing awareness to the destination and keeping The Bahamas front and centre in the minds of the travelling public when they think of a vacation.

“Seventy-six percent of foreign visitors hail from the United States. It’s our core market and it’s not that we expect that because the game is named the Bahamas Bowl that people will run to to book a vacation, but it does keep the destination Bahamas front and centre in the minds of the Americans when they decide to go on holiday.

“It also helped that we had a Florida team in the competition this year, and obviously it was easy for a lot of people to fly over to Nassau and support their team. They brought a number of players and support staff, and they had their fans.”