 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.
As I mentioned in last month’s Entre Nous, our plans for Bonaire Dive Into Summer (BDIS) are taking shape. BDIS will be a four-month long, island-wide event taking place June to September 2007. Special attention will be devoted to families, divers on all levels, photography, marine conservation and in September, singles. Through BDIS all those visiting Bonaire this summer will benefit from discounts and added values through an island-wide coupon book which will be distributed for free. Special events and activities that focus on the 5 afore-mentioned target markets will also receive pr in this coupon book, so as to entice visitors to participate and take advantage. No special registration nor fee will be required. TCB will provide more information as the event progresses. The website www.bonairediveintosummer.com should be up in February and will contain more information. I am also happy to report that on the airlift front, the planes continue to arrive almost full to capacity and we are hoping for more good news to come. As for the cruise ships, we also show a continued increase and look forward to having the opportunity of welcoming more passengers and showing them our island with the hope that they will return as stay over guests. To check out new Bonaire Ambassadors. please visit: www.bonaireambassador.com
Among the crowd at the trade event at Vakantiebeurs 2007 we could also welcome our new carrier Arkefly, represented by our old friend Mr Manfred Lahey, who we know for several years now given his previous jobs at TUI and OAD. Arkefly started its service in November and is thinking about increasing the numbers of flights. For TCB Europe an unique opportunity to present the Pink Egg to Manfred. This award is annually given to the person or company we expect a lot of in the year to come. Manfred was delighted. A trade event without the trade press is no trade event at all. Like every year we could welcome our dear friends of the Dutch trade press. The all gave us quite a coverage so that travel agents through out Holland could read about Bonaire. This was in addition of the guerilla- and direct marketing efforts TCB Europe took B2B in January. Staring already in December we organized some prize contests and also gave our trade partners previews to the new videos of www.BonaireVisits.tv starring Katja and Birgit Schuurman. An of course the most important trade partners were personally invited to the trade event at Vakantiebeurs. Just after finishing Vakantiebeurs, TCB Europe is working hard for the next round in shows and direct marketing. DuikVaker 2007 is coming up and is used for an integrated marketing campaign towards Dutch dive shops. We also re-edit the dive map to reprint this successful item. In order to launch at DuikVaker the TCB Europe marketing team is steaming ahead to match all deadlines.
Dive promotion secondary markets Maintenance is the key word for TCB Europe in marketing in the so called secondary markets. Given airlift developments both TCB as well as the private sector decided to focus on Holland in the first months of 2007. This means we put only the necessary efforts into the UK and German markets. An example is our participation in the Ultimate Dive Guide.
CHA Caribbean Marketplace and More!
 After the conference, Candice Adams Kimmel flew from one sister island to another and reconnected with Ronella Croes in Bonaire for a series of meetings. Finalizing TCB’s online advertising campaign, meeting with the private sector for discussions on Bonaire Dive Into Summer Program (BDIS) were just a few of the items covered over the course of her stay. At the invitation of BONHATA, Candice attended the CHA membership meeting held by Tanya Lazarus, Director of Membership Sales and Development and also attended a press conference hosted by STINAPA.
Bonaire Makes A Big Splash As Scuba Tour Kicks-Off the New Year’s First Two Shows! As the Gold Destination Sponsor of DEMA’s Scuba Tour this year, Bonaire could not be missed at the New York Adventures In Travel Expo on January 13-14 and the Greater Reading Sport, Travel & Outdoors Show, January 20-21. TCB-NYC’s Marie Rosa and Patricia Rowan were on site to meet and greet people trying out the sport of scuba diving in the Scuba Tour Pool, distributing Bonaire information and chatting it up about the destination. Bonaire banners hung strategically around the pool area, along with the stand-alone banners close to the booth thanks to Big Wave Dave and his team. Local TV-crews were on site at the crack of dawn to capture the moments and broadcast live from the pool. An early morning, pre-show breakfast for dive retailers in the area, was hosted by Bonaire and gave them the opportunity to get up close and personal with the TCB-NYC team --- so we could talk the talk about the Bonaire product…and we have the photos to show it! Next Scuba Tour stops for Bonaire to gain attention will be in Chicago, IL at Our World Underwater and the Los Angeles Times Travel & Adventure Show in Long Beach, CA, both over February 9-11 weekend. E-vites to dive retailers in each respect area will be sent to welcome them to come meet the Bonaire representatives at the show. The media will be alerted, the caters will be summoned, and we’ll be looking forward to promoting Bonaire to the thousands of people who walk through the shows’s doors in search of their next great adventure!
For Some, May 2007 Will Be Bonaire Month! Every year photographer Patricia Sener comes to Bonaire for one thing...the Eco-Swim. During the 2006 eco-swim, Patricia took a beautiful photograph from underwater of swimmers swiming above her. The photograph was so beautiful that Outside Magazine has decided to use it in their calendar, which was recently distributed to their subscribers and is being given out at tradeshows and other events attended by Outside Magazine's staff. The photograph appears in the month of May in the 2007 calendar is will surely keep Bonaire in the minds of many outdoor adventure loving travelers.
(Click on the images to enlarge; opens in new window)
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 January two press releases were written and distributed to the media. The Bonaire Briefs press release highlighted news from the island including hotel news and packages, new restaurants and other specials and activities now available to visitors. This release was sent out to the North American media. The second release written focused on the press conference given by Bonaire and Divi Resorts at Caribbean Marketplace on January 15, 2007. This release was distributed to the local media in Bonaire along with photos of the event. Continued making arrangements for the press visit of Christina (Chrissy) Colon. She is tentatively scheduled to visit Bonaire February 14-17, 2007. During her time on island she will be gathering information for an expanded Bonaire chapter in the Frommer's guidebook the Portable Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. With the expansion of the Bonaire chapter in the guide, Ms. Colon will be visiting hotels, restaurants and attractions. Continued dialogue with Christina Persico, travel editor of the New York Daily News (circulation 802,100) regarding a possible press visit this year. She is interested in sending a journalist to the island to report on accommodations, activities and the ease of getting to the island with the launch of Continental Airlines' flight from Newark, NJ.USA Today (circulation 2,309,853) San Francisco Chronicle & Star (Minneapolis, MN) Tribune (combined circulation 1,117,542) Saturday Star (Toronto, Canada) (circulation 698,815) Dallas (TX) Morning News (circulation 649,709) Advanced Diver (circulation 20,000) Another article has surfaced from the Dive Into Adventure Bonaire press group that was escorted by TCB-NYC last year. Journalist Cass Lawson has written a “genius” article about Bonaire, Dive Into Adventure and the one-of-a-kind diving that Bonaire has to offer. Because the publication is for advanced divers, the article includes information about technical diving, advanced diving facilities and advanced diving equipment. Additionally, Cass Lawson wrote a special sidebar article about Larry’s Wild Side Diving.
(Click on the images to enlarge; opens in new window) Scuba Diving (circulation 185,000)
(Click on the image to view the pdf-file which opens in new window; 673 kB)
New Year greetings from South America! To all our Entre Nous readers, our best wishes for an excellent beginning of a year, plenty of success and productivity in 2007. As result of ESPN Sport Travel visiting the island recently, the well known sports channel has begun to promote Bonaire along with other destinations. Five (5) programs will be aired during the months of January to March. The will showcase the beauty of the island, its culture, its people, accommodation, gastronomy and all that Bonaire has to offer to its visitors. It features our famous diving in the pristine marine park and other outdoor activities such as windsurfing, kitesurfing, hiking etc, etc. The premier was launched on Jan 19 at 19:30/20:00h prime time (Miami hour) and then re-transmitted two more days during the week to complete 15 programs in total until March, as shown below:
Sport Travel known previously as Diving Passport production is the exclusive ESPN program for sport, adventure and tourism reaching all Latin American audience via Cable TV. TCB wants to thank the private sector, DAE, Avianca and specially Captain Don’s Habitat, host hotel of Sport Travel production team, for making possible to have ESPN on island.www.sport-travel.tv Destinos / Bonaire to enjoy a short video “Diving in Bonaire by Philippe Cousteau”. Brazil and Venezuelan focusing strongly The promotional marketing efforts continue in these two proactive markets where visitors keep coming to the island and the connecting flights are improving as shown by the statistics last year. Next holiday in both countries will be Carnival during February, where their first 2007 diving groups will arrive on island.2007 Bonaire underwater calendar
The calendar was sponsored by TCB, the Plaza Resort, Buddy Dive, Sun Rentals, Belmar and Caribbean Club. We would like to thank Flavio and Sandro from Arribatur for its great idea to design the Bonaire calendar. (Click on the images to enlarge; opens in new window) 2007 Key dates in the Venezuelan market! Slowly but surely, it’s a tourist market coming frequently to our island due to its proximity, only 45 minutes in a direct flight! 2007 holidays: Carnival Feb 16-20, Easter Apr 4-9, Labour Day Apr 27-May 01, and Columbus Day Oct 11-14.2007 Calendar South America trade shows Vitrina de Anato Feb 26-28 Bogotá, Colombia
Note: Jan-Apr Harvest Period (C,E+T) (H)= Holiday Back to the top
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I would like to officially welcome our new members to the team. Roosje Van der Hoek is now on board and will be working part-time as coordinator for USONA projects. We also welcome Helen Thode who will be assuming the function of secretary at TCB. She has been working with us on various projects for the past two years and has proven to be a great addition to TCB.
Tuesday January 9 TCB Europe organized once again its annual trade event at the Vakantiebeurs in Utrecht. This time we could welcome a new record in attendance since up to 90 of our dearest trade partners found their way to the booth. TCB’s Roger Davids gave them all a very warm welcome. Next to annual speech he handed over this years Promotion Prize to Dick Lucas of Lucas Diving. We all do remember his wonderful PR-stunt with Nochi Coffi. This Bonairian artist realized a great wall painting in dives hop Lucas Diving. The prize handed to Dick Lucas was in fact a prize for joint effort since we do have to thank Bous, Bonhata and KLM for their support.
In January we could welcome RTL Travel to Bonaire. Host and Dutch celeb Chris Zegers came over to our island to visit Stinapa. He paid close attention to the words of Stinapa director Elsmarie Beukenboom (see picture), because he really supports the way Bonaire is taking care of nature. The crew of RTL Travel also visited the house of Piet Boon. This architect has designed and build his second home on Bonaire. Boon is an international rising star representing Dutch creativity and particularly architecture and interior design. Within the next couple of weeks RTL Travel featuring Bonaire will be broadcasted.
On January 15, 2007 during Caribbean Marketplace in Aruba, Ronella Croes, Director of the Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) together with Alex Nieuwmeyer, who oversees Divi Resorts’ operations in Aruba and Bonaire hosted a press conference to announce details of the Divi Bonaire All Inclusive, the new Divi Resorts hotel to be built in Bonaire. Candice Adams Kimmel, President of Adams Unlimited, also participated in the press briefing. In addition to providing details on the all inclusive beachfront resort, information on the sustainable tourism practices that will be adhered to during the property’s construction were announced. In accordance with Bonaire’s strict building policies that have been in place since 1999, the resort will be constructed according to Green Globe guidelines and will respect both Bonaire’s culture and dedication to environmental and marine preservation. Construction of the resort is expected to begin in spring 2007, with completion scheduled for the end of 2008.
In January one issue of Bonaire EZ News was distributed to our database of consumers and travel agents. The January 16 issue focused on Island, Dive Center and Hotel News.
