Fleming Island High School Tourism Students Visit Grand Bahama Island

On Friday, February 17th, a group of 36 teachers and students from Fleming Island High School (Jacksonville, Florida) disembarked the Carnival Elation to attend a short presentation and take a city tour of Grand Bahama Island.

The informative presentation, organized by members of the Ministry of Tourism, kicked off with a short Junkanoo demonstration suited for royalty.

As tourism in The Bahamas was the group’s main reason for visiting the island, the students briefly learned about the history of the islands, how to travel, where to stay, and last but not least, about all of the fun filled activities that Grand Bahama Island has to offer.

Karenda Swain, Asst. Manager, Training & Education, Grand Bahama, said that "It was important for the group to visit, so that they could take a look at the different aspects of tourism offered outside of their country. Grand Bahama is the destination where they saw a good opportunity to learn more about the tourism industry".

Laura Kirk, Hospitality and Tourism teacher, Fleming High School, said that "We try to teach our class with hands on experiences in mind, so we've cruised for the last four years but this is our first trip to Grand Bahama Island".

With that in mind, Kirk believes that taking the opportunity to learn about different tourism sectors outside of the United States is highly beneficial to the students' learning process in terms of selecting possible career fields.

Gabriel Josephs, Jr. Minister of Tourism, said that "These students are in an enviable position where they come to a country that's built on tourism. They have the unique opportunity to see, and to walk around, and to know that every person that they meet is deeply affected by our tourism industry, and that's a unique proposition".

The group ended their day with a tour of the island, including a visit to the candle and perfume factories, and the Port Lucaya Market Place to experience authentic Bahamian cuisine.

The group spent a total of five hours on the island and looked forward to a second day of adventure in New Providence on Saturday.