Tourism: What other countries do...

Methods of selling tourism vary, but a mix of public and private initiatives have gained popularity in recent years.

The Bahamas relies on a mix of private and public tourism bodies to sell the island chain to vistors.

The Bahamian Department of Tourism, under a Director General, works closely with the Minister of Tourism, but staff are not civil servants or public officers.

According to the Bahamas tourism website, that means staff “have more freedom than otherwise would be the case.”

In addition, there are entirely private bodies, like the Nassau/Paradise Island Promotions Board, funded by a room toll on large hotels, and the Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board, which is described as “an unofficial amalgam” of the private Grand Bahama Island Promotion Board and the on-site Ministry of Tourism staff.

Other parts of the island chain also have privately-operated tourism boards, some of which operate with part-funding from the Bahamian government.

The Cayman Islands uses a tourism model similar to the existing Bermuda one – a Department of Tourism which is run by the Ministry of Financial Services, Tourism and Development.

England’s national tourist board, VisitEngland, was established in April 2009 as a key recommendation of the British Tourism Framework Review.

After several years without its own agency, it was considered that England required a national tourist board in line with similar bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It is a non-governmental organisation supported through a grant from the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport. n