Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board Wins First Heat of Routes Marketing Awards

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, February 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board was crowned winner of the first heat of the 2016 Routes Marketing Awards at a ceremony last night (Thursday, February 18) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150730/250177LOGO )

The annual Routes Marketing Awards recognise excellence in airport and destination marketing. Airlines vote for the marketing services that support the successful launch of new air services or the development of existing ones, making them highly regarded in the aviation industry.

The awards are split into five categories: Under 4 Million Passengers; 4-20 Million Passengers; Over 20 Million Passengers; Destination and Overall Winner. Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board won both the Destination and Overall Winner Awards, with the judges being impressed by the way the tourism authority works with airline partners to initiate new routes, investing significant resources to create the demand for services and driving 42,000 customers to their airline partners' websites.

As the winner of the regional Americas heat, Nassau Paradise Island Promotion will be entered into the World Routes Marketing Awards in Chengdu, China in September 2016. The tourism authority will compete with the finalists of the Asia, Europe and Africa heats to be crowned the global leader in route marketing.

The awards ceremony was held at the Routes Americas 2016 event in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Routes Americas is the only route development forum for the entire Americas region and this year's event has achieved the highest number of delegates in its nine year history - 750 compared to 650 in 2015.

Fred Lounsberry, Chief Executive Officer of Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, said: "We are pleasantly surprised but absolutely delighted to pick up these awards. To be recognised by our airline partners for our efforts is a great endorsement of the hard work we put into maintaining healthy and positive relationships."

Katie Bland, Director of Routes, said: "Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board excels at promotion and marketing. They understand the importance of working with their airline partners to develop joint strategies for the sustainable growth of the tourism industry in the Bahamas."

Notes to Editors 

Image L-R: Fred Lounsberry, Chief Executive Officer of Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board and Katie Bland, Director of Routes.

The shortlisted finalists were voted for by airlines and a panel of senior members from the airline network planning community judged the entries.

The full list of shortlisted nominees and winners is:

Under 4 Million Passengers
Aruba Airport Authority NV - Winner
Charleston International Airport - Highly Commended
Curaçao International Airport - Highly Commended
Cyril E. King Airport
Olaya Herrera Airport

4-20 Million Passengers
Vancouver International Airport - Winner
Portland International Airport - Highly Commended
Cancún International Airport
Trudeau International Airport
Tocumen International Airport

Over 20 Million Passengers
Las Vegas McCarran International Airport - Winner
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport - Highly Commended
El Dorado International Airport
Boston Logan International Airport
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Destination Marketing Award
Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board - Winner
Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau - Highly Commended
Barbados Tourism Authority
Explore Charleston
St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

About Routes 

• Routes events are unique forums dedicated to the development of new air services which bring together airlines, airports and destinations to meet, plan, discuss and negotiate new and existing flights.

• Five 'regional' route development forums are held between February and July in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa/Middle East and Silk Road/Russian Commonwealth, and the flagship World Routes event takes place in September. http://www.routesonline.com

• The events revolve around pre-scheduled meetings and an exhibition and conference which are delivered in partnership with host stakeholders. Hosts tend to be a collaboration between airports, tourism authorities and investment partners (the bidding process takes place two to three years before the event takes place).

• Routes was founded in 1995 as part of the UK‐based consultancy ASM which specialises in route development for airports, airlines and tourism and travel organisations. http://www.asm‐global.com. Routes and ASM are part of the UBM EMEA division of UBM plc.

For further information please contact:
Karen Reeves
Communications & Content Marketing Manager
Routes, UBM EMEA
T: +44-(0)161-234-2721
M: +44-(0)796-6405-105
E: Karen.Reeves@routesonline.com