Barbados Underground

If there has ever been a time when tourism partners sharing the same sub-sector have needed to work together in the national recovery interest, it is now! A couple of weeks ago I suggested to our national marketing agency that a short video be produced from the existing library of incredible images highlighting our amazing choice of restaurants and dining

We all know the story of Sam Lord. The world’s second oldest known con artist. The first one was William Chaloner (1650 – 1699): A serial counterfeiter and confidence trickster proven guilty by Sir Isaac Newton. Below is a shortened version of his story. Samuel Hall Lord, also called “Sam Lord” (1778 – 5 November 1844) was one of the

How much should the BTMI spend on enticing a visitor to Barbados? The answer depends on a number of factors – The country of origin The length of stay The age of the potential visitors The reason for travel (sports, honeymoon, family holidays etc) The average hotel cost in winter/summer. Although visitors from the USA have the shortest stay compared

If the availability of low cost airfares from across our main markets is any indication, then January and perhaps February should be especially bumper months for our accommodation providers, especially among the lower priced budget offerings. Return flights to Barbados from Gatwick for as little at GB Pounds 269, which is quite remarkable in itself, when you consider this fare

What would the first column of a new year be without including a tourism wish list? And not necessarily in any order of priority or potential realization! As Air Canada prepares to roll-out publicly, its first new re-branded Airbus A220-300 airplane, number one of 45 on order, exciting opportunities present themselves, especially within the Caribbean. This ‘incredibly fuel efficient’ aircraft

As we prepare to enter another new year, Christmas and the festive season gives way to traditionally the busiest holiday booking period in many of our major markets, notably the United Kingdom. I would like to designate 2020 as the Year of Opportunity. With a new head of our national tourism marketing agency shortly in place, perhaps we could use

During the 30 plus years my wife and I have lived on Barbados we have tried to take at least a couple of short breaks within the region or locally each year. Having chaired, and or sat, on various tourism committees over those three decades and being a frequent commentator on the sector, I have always felt obliged to know

What practical measures could we implement to help negate the consequence of the falling value of Sterling and make Barbados more affordable for our existing and potential British visitors? My thoughts are, that we have to think way beyond the very basics, like flights and accommodation and look for smart partnerships which will bring the overall cost of the holiday

The peak winter season is over. Ahead of us are eight long softer summer months and every creative fibre throughout our national body should now go into hyperdrive to help maximize our tourism potential until December. We need our food and wine distributors to become more ardent and see how better they can work with our hospitality industry to jointly