Hope to see you soon, Bahamas!

As an event planner (in my previous profession), experience always taught me the significance of customer feedback/ personal impressions and how it would affect organizing future events. So, when I first started this journey to the Bahamas, knowing that I was participating both as a customer and a researcher, I felt I had to be more aware of my surroundings and try to document as much as I could to capture all the details on this trip. On the other hand, I’d also had to constantly remind myself to strike a balance in between, learn to let go and be able to enjoy the experience as a tourist too.

Customer experience is such a subjective topic to measure. Many times, you’d see long questionnaires being used to study customer behavior and most of the time you do not get all truthful answers as customers lose interest and just want to complete these tedious forms as soon as possible. I believe I have been very fortunate to attend this course as I’ve learned there are different techniques to gather data (i.e. participation observation, peak experience) in such a manner where it does not impose the customers or take up too much of their time and you have sufficient data to use to support your findings.

Another key point that I learned is you need to be very flexible when it comes to using different approaches to tackle a research. The tools and materials can be fluid and change all the time. It might seem frustrating at times, however, once you find the right formula and add in the right factors, everything gets easier.

Patience is a virtue, and in this case, especially on this 10-day trip, has been tested many times throughout our experience in the Bahamas. Adjusting to concept of “island time” was probably one of the most challenging things I had to do. Nevertheless, it did teach me to be even more patient in many situations. Now I get to exercise my patience a lot with my three-year old son. J (hehehe)

My experience in the Bahamas is one I will always remember. It is such a beautiful country with beautiful natural attractions, unique culture and very friendly people. I only had the opportunity to explore Nassau, but I’ve been told by many locals that the surrounding islands are even more spectacular. 

The beautiful creations in the Junkanoo Festival

 There is so much potential in this country that has not been tapped into, as I wish and pray that any organization that is responsible for tourism take into account and consider the approach for sustainable development for their beaches and islands as well as promote Bahamian culture as an authentic marketing plan to attract more tourists. I say this with such passion, because I believe there is so much the Bahamas has to offer and I would love to come back with my family and visit again.

Junkanoo World

Junkanoo World Museum and Arts Center is a hidden gem, located on Nassau Street, a bit of a walk, away from downtown Nassau.  We only found out about Junkanoo World as it was mentioned by our guest speaker on the day of the New Year’s Junkanoo. As our team decided to go, we were mesmerized from the moment we stepped inside. 

From the entrance of the building, you can see how passionate the owners of Junkanoo world are on this 400-year traditional festival. As you walk in, you are greeted by a colorful display of Junkanoo costumes and headpieces. Then, you come to a clearing where you see a walkway displaying drums, decorations and a brief history of Junkanoo.

Junkanoo World was formed by a long-time patriot of Junkanoo and founder of one of the largest performing teams, “ROOTS”, Mr. Quentin Woodside “Barabbas”. We were very fortunate to be greeted by Barabbas himself as he was preparing the courtyard for a breakfast after Junkanoo ended in the morning. It was fascinating to learn how Junkanoo has evolved.

We entered the main hall which was a high ceiling room packed from top to bottom, filled with Junkanoo props from previous years, and we were told that they were making room for more props to arrive later, after the Junkanoo festival ends at New Year’s morning. The exquisite craftsmanship of the men and women involved in their teams’ project is astonishing. It makes you wonder how long it takes for them to complete each piece and assemble them for this annual event.

 

But the most awesome experience of all was when we approached the back room filled with Junkanoo costumes where you can try on and take pictures of. It is an extremely wonderful to be able to have a glimpse of what it feels like to be a part of this Bahamian festival.   

I was surprised that there were not many people visiting this attraction, as it was the day of the New Year’s Junkanoo, but then again, not many tourists know about Junkanoo. I believe if all the parties involved were to promote Junkanoo, the number of visitors to this museum and art center would multiply tenfold.  

And maybe because we visited Junkanoo world later in the afternoon, we did not see many staff around, as they must have been in preparation of the Junkanoo festival that would take place later that night. However , at the end of our tour,  a young drummer performed for us to top off this unique experience.