Tourism boom

William “Billy” Griffith, CEO, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) believes that the Tourism Industry in Barbados is on a positive trajectory and there are exciting opportunities for the industry moving forward .

“Already, at the close of the first quarter of 2019, we continued to enjoy consistent growth trends. From January to March 2019, Barbados welcomed 210 288 air arrivals, a 2.9 per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2018. We expect that our marketing tactics for this year, coupled with your supporting efforts, will see us maintain our upward trajectory” was the word coming from the CEO yesterday, at the Connect Barbados 2019 breakfast at Hilton Barbados.

According to him, “We find ourselves now at a very interesting juncture in our destination’s tourism landscape with booming airlift across our markets, new and exciting product coming on stream, and investor and partner confidence at a high. We understand the competitive nature of our tourism business, which is why despite consistent increases in arrivals, visitor spend and capacity over the past five years, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels.

“Overall, 2018 was a successful year for Barbados tourism – recording an overall increase in air arrivals, up 2.5 per cent from 2017.

“As we look at individual growth, the US market particularly shone at the end of the of 2018: Arrivals from the United States of America recorded the highest growth of all visitor markets, at 8.3 per cent. In addition to our traditional marketing and advertising efforts, we also embarked on unique collaborations like the recent Brooklynettes auditions held in Barbados, which saw six Barbadian dancers getting the opportunity to perform at Barbados Night at Barclays Center during half-time.

“On the airlift front, we’ve just last week announced the expansion of JetBlue’s seasonal weekly service out of Newark, New Jersey, to a year-round service starting this Saturday.”

He added, “The aggressive sales, PR, and marketing efforts from our London-based team, resulted in the UK continuing to lead as Barbados’ primary source market, ending 2018 with 36.1 per cent of total share. By the close of the first quarter of 2019, the UK had contributed 34.7 per cent of long-stay arrivals to the island. In the coming quarter and beyond, the Canadian office intends to undertake activities geared towards both the travel trade and consumers.

“We have been ramping up our marketing and PR efforts across the Latin America region over the past year with the advent of our Copa Airlines direct service, and we are happy today to welcome our largest contingent at Connect 2019 from Argentina. In the Caribbean, our efforts for increased visibility in the region continue, particularly with our annual #NoCrewLeftBehind campaign, which promotes our summer Crop Over festival across the region.”

Griffith pointed out, “In addition to the numbers, we’ve also seen evidence of our growth as a destination with the numerous awards and accolades we’ve received over the past year. Most recently, our Director for the US, Petra Roach, was on hand to accept the Tourism Partner of the Year award, which the BTMI won in The Villas of Distinction President’s Circle Awards in the US. We also took home three 2019 Travvy awards, including Silver in Best Destination Overall and Best Honeymoon Destination in the Caribbean/Bahamas; the Caribbean Director of the Year award at the 2018 Caribbean Travel Awards; the prestigious Star Winter Sun Destination 2018 award at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards in the UK; and of course, 13 awards across categories such as Top Hotels Overall, Luxury, All-Inclusive, Small, Best Service, Bargain, and Romance, in the 2018 Travellers’ Choice Awards.” (NB)