Dubai, United Arab Emirates – January 4, 2023: Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, has reached an agreement with the Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote tourism in the Caribbean archipelago. The airline and the Bahamas Department of Tourism will launch joint initiatives to increase visitor traffic to the islands from key Emirates network markets.

The MoU was signed by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Group Chairman and CEO, and HE Tony Joudi, Ambassador of the Bahamas to the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar at Emirates Group Headquarters. Adnan Kazim, Emirates Chief Commercial Officer, and Salem Obaidalla, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations for the Americas of Emirates were also present at the signing ceremony.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, said, “We are pleased to be working with the Bahamas Department of State to support its goals of boosting the country’s tourism economy. We look forward to playing a key role in promoting the Bahamas as a major recreational destination through our partnerships with United and Air Canada. Our global customers in our network can use Emirates services to our points in North America and benefit from improved connectivity and access to the islands.

His Excellency Tony Joudi hassaid the Bahamian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar “I would like to thank Emirates for the role it has played in strengthening the relationship between the two countries. Tourism is the lifeblood of our country’s economy, and by increasing the number of visitors to our tropical island paradise, we hope to achieve our goals of boosting the tourism economy and improving the climate.

“Emirates is a pioneer in global connectivity, linking East to West, and we look forward to working closely with the airline to help us achieve our tourism goals. The economy as a whole will benefit from a renewed boost from tourism, and our country has made significant investments in infrastructure to accommodate the expected tourism boom. On behalf of the Bahamas government and the people of the country, we look forward to hosting a discovery trip for influencers and media earlier this year to experience and showcase first-hand the best that our country has to offer as a travel destination of choice for their audience,” continued Thursday.

Spread over 16 main islands, the Bahamas boasts over 100,000 square miles of the world’s clearest ocean. Its coveted beaches and pristine shores make the Bahamas one of the most popular destinations in the Caribbean, offering visitors a rich mix of recreational and cultural activities.

As part of the MOU, the two parties will collaborate on joint promotional campaigns to benefit the airline and increase tourist arrivals to the Bahamas, demonstrating the destination’s appeal to visitors and travelers.

The agreement also includes marketing activities, including media and career induction trips, in the first quarter of 2023 and the development of bespoke tourism packages through its tour operating division. Emirates Holidays, which can be booked by customers of the airline’s extensive network. The two parties have also agreed to explore opportunities to collaborate on joint promotional campaigns to promote the Antilles travel destination.

Emirates currently operates flights to 12 airports in the United States in addition to Toronto. The partnership between the two airlines will allow customers across Emirates’ global route network to use the services to travel to US destinations such as Houston, Chicago or Newark before flying United to Nassau. Travelers can also fly to the Bahamas via Toronto with Canadian airline Air Canada, which activated its codeshare partnership last November.

In addition, the bulk of visitor traffic to the Bahamas is made up of travelers from the United States and Canada, the Bahamas also attracts tourists from other international destinations in the Emirates network including the United Arab Emirates, Greece, India, China, the Philippines and Singapore .

Currently, Emirates customers can reach Nassau Airport on codeshare flights with Air Canada via Toronto and from major US airports such as Houston (IAH), Newark (EWR) and Chicago (ORD) on interline flights with United. Emirates operates a modern fleet of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft to a network of over 130 destinations on six continents.