SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, February 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.

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.”

Pictured: (from left) Fred Lounsberry, Chief Executive Officer of Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board and Katie Bland, Director of Routes. (Photo courtesy Routes)