With its location just a shell's throw from the U.S. coastline, the choice of Nassau as a meeting destination was an easy one for Lisa Gander of General and Cologne Life. The Stanford, Conn., meeting executive said, "I had been there on a fam, and it went very well. The Bahamas as a whole was a very positive experience."
Gander's group of 25 attendees, participants in an advisory council meeting that included CEOs, stayed at the Sheraton Grand Paradise Island in February. The participants enjoyed activities around the region. "I took the group to Atlantis, and we had a cocktail event. They also did the Dolphin Experience at Blue Lagoon, and that was the talk of the trip."
Gander also noted that travel arrangements and details were simple. "It was extremely easy to get to the Bahamas."
Easy air arrangements also played an important part in selection of the Bahamas as a meeting destination for Joanne Gandolfo, vice president, conference and travel for Prudential. Based in Newark, N.J., the travel executive led the annual Masters Conferences at Atlantis, Paradise Island. Gandolfo hosted two groups in June and July, each with 1,500 participants.
"The island itself offers all the usual water sports, dolphin swims and encounters, and has limited golf," noted Gandolfo. "Our attendees loved the site, I heard. After 25 years, this is probably the best conference I have ever attended."