Liberian national Bahia Akerele (second right) gazes at her fiancé Edward Neufville (right), also a Liberian (now residing in the US), as she is presented with a book on Jamaica and keepsakes by Carrole Guntley, director general in the Ministry of Tourism, and John Lynch (second left), director of tourism, on their arrival at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, yesterday. Looking on are (from left in background) Godfrey Dyer, chairman of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF); Robert Russell, chairman of the Tourism Product Development Company, and Ian Neita, TEF's executive director. - Photo by Noel Thompson
WESTERN BUREAU:
After visiting Jamaica three times and discovering the exceptional warmth of the people, West Africa-born Bahia Akerele decided to introduce her fiancé to the island where she will wed him this Saturday.
The soon-to-be-married couple were the first passengers to disembark an Air Jamaica flight from Baltimore, United States, as it touched down yesterday at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, the tourism mecca, to mark the official start of the winter tourist season.
"I'm very grateful to be here and to be met like this. I have travelled to many other islands in the Caribbean for destination weddings and I felt that Jamaica was the most receptive to Africans. This makes us feel at home," Bahia told journalists and tourism officials at the airport.
Welcome gifts
Bahia and her partner, Liberia-born Edward Neufville, who is a practising civil attorney in the US, were met by Tourism Director John Lynch, other tourism officials and management of Air Jamaica, as well as Commissioner of Customs Danville Walker as they disembarked.
Jamaica Tourist Board officials presented them with keepsakes, while Iberostar Resorts provided complimentary accommodation to be taken up at a later date. Owen Campbell, regional manager of airport services with Air Jamaica, beamed as he handed them two return tickets to Jamaica - an offer they can take up within a year's time.
noel.thompson@gleanerjm.com