FREEPORT — The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation has appointed Steven Johnson as General Manager of Tourism on Grand Bahama Island, effective immediately.

A sales and marketing veteran, Johnson brings a wealth of knowledge in public relations, event planning, marketing, and advertising to his new post, backed by over 23 years’ experience in the tourism and hospitality sector.

Johnson is already a well-known name here in Canada. Most recently he was Senior Manager for Business Development at the Bahamas Tourist Office, based in Toronto. His tenure with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism goes back to 1986 and he has served in various capacities in Grand Bahama, New York and Canada.

Starting as a tourist information assistant in Grand Bahama, he progressed to administering the government’s tourism training program, BahamaHost. He later transferred to Canada where he quickly rose through the ranks of sales representative, district manager, regional manager and senior regional manager. His many marketing initiatives during this time were instrumental in increasing The Bahamas’ stopover arrivals from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and B.C.

While in New York, Johnson served at The Bahamas Tourist Office as Senior Regional Manager with responsibility for sales and marketing in the northeast.

His career in tourism and hospitality also included a seven-month period at Tourism Saskatoon as Convention and Event Sales Director.

Canada’s loss is Grand Bahama Island’s gain. The destination is working to get back on track after Hurricane Dorian swept through in September 2019. Johnson says the opportunity to head up the local tourist office is “a huge honour”, acknowledging that while his return to Grand Bahama comes during a time of great devastation and loss, he is optimistic the island will rebound and is eager to jumpstart that process.

“My dream has been to return to Grand Bahama in a leadership role to improve the tourism business and to work along with colleagues, stakeholders and various levels of government to put Grand Bahama back on track,” he said.

“I believe that Grand Bahama will rise again and I’m committed to richly convincing others, through winning strategies, that ‘it’s better in The Bahamas’.”