The operators of the Port Hawkesbury Airport have teamed up with a Florida consultant to market Cape Breton to the rich and famous.

Celtic Air Services has hired Kimberly Ibarra of Fort Lauderdale. Ibarra calls herself a "luxury consultant" and her clients include Embraer Executive Jets, PXG golf clubs and Boat International Media.

The airport is working with Ibarra and Keltic Lodge on an invitation-only golf tournament in late June at Highlands Links.

'She works with the one-percenters'

Damian MacInnis, the managing partner of Celtic Air Services — the operator of the Port Hawkesbury Airport — said Ibarra "fell in love" with the pictures of the course and Cape Breton when he and his business partner met with her in November in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

They felt a golf tournament would be the best way to attract Ibarra's clientele to the island.

"She works with the one-percenters, the crowd of ultra-high-net worth individuals across the world," said MacInnis.

"They fly in private jets, they look for certain types of experiences, they look for new places to go."

Damian MacInnis is managing partner of Celtic Air Services, which operates the Port Hawkesbury Airport. (Submitted by Damian MacInnis)

The June tournament, called the Highlands Keltic Classic, is open to just 20 couples.

MacInnis said they will arrive in Port Hawkesbury by private jet and then travel to Ingonish and the Highlands Links by helicopter.

They'll stay at the Keltic Lodge.

"From my point of view, it's a great opportunity," said Graham Hudson, who manages both the Highlands Links and the Keltic Lodge. "It's new clientele, and [it] sounds like her clientele are pretty well-heeled, so it's always nice to have people coming with money."

'This is just the start'

MacInnis said there's already a substantial draw in Cape Breton for golfers with the Highlands Links, Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs.

Last year, 675 flights landed at Port Hawkesbury Airport, with many of them carrying golfers.

But MacInnis said he hopes Ibarra can help them reach an even more exclusive type of visitor, who is not influenced by traditional types of marketing.

"The way the ultra high-net worth people work, it's the conversations they have with their friends," said MacInnis. "Having her as our voice and really talking to these people, we believe that this is just the start."