Omar Forde won the Beach Culture Conch Blowing competition.

Omar Forde won the Beach Culture Conch Blowing competition.

Bajan Beach Culture gives back

Supporters of community Organic Tourism initiative recognized at awards ceremony

Brian Talma and the Bajan Beach Culture movement gave back to the media and all those who supported the cause over the years in a Silver Sands community-supported awards ceremony.

The day began only as a Beach Culture event could, at the deAction Beach Shop, with fun on the beach. The guests and community enjoyed the clear skies from about 10 a.m., playing beach cricket on the wet sand and surf and then hit the water for kiteboarding, windsurfing, surfing and stand up paddling competitions and clinics.

Lunch time brought the festivities to deAction Beach Grill & Bar, where the barbecue was in full effect. The community spirit saturated the event as food from resident shops, including the London Bar, was brought over for all patrons to sample and enjoy.

Throughout the year, the Beach Culture events have brought to light the vision of the recently honoured Barbadian sporting great. Organic Tourism is a powerful idea presented by Talma this year, where the goal is to change Barbados to a more uplifting and safe country, one community at a time. Using beach sports and later on adding more sporting events, communities can pull together and host events where the people and businesses within the community would benefit. The events would also have the capabilities of creating a brand of tourism where the attraction of tourists to the island would be long term and not just seasonal.

The awards ceremony awarded those who were part of the events held during the year. Omar Forde was awarded for his first place performance in the Conch Shell Blowing competition, David Bourne grabbed the Most Wickets in the Beach Cricket competition, while Oneal Marshall took top spot in Windsurfing. Ria Goodman and Corey Greaves were also awarded for the outstanding media coverage of the events, and for helping to spread the word and vision to the public.

Organic Tourism a must for the future
Present at the event was Kerry Hall, CEO of the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA), who spoke highly of Talma and the Organic Tourism Project. She spoke to The Barbados Advocate about the positive message that was being portrayed on the day, stating that community tourism is the purist form of tourism.

“At the Barbados Tourism Product Authority, community tourism is one of our mandates, and we believe that it is the purist and most sustainable form of tourism. It is an industry created by the Barbados public, where once they take ownership of it and are engaged and involved and benefit directly from it, they would nurture and protect it.”

She went on to use Silver Sands as an example, where in the past there was a problem with crime, but through Talma’s efforts,  the community has bought into Organic Tourism. They have taken ownership of tourism and have transformed the area, where they are benefiting from it and have created an atmosphere where they interact with the tourists directly, and allow them to be immersed in the community culture. This type of tourism gives the tourist a phenomenal, true, Barbadian experience, where it becomes a win win situation for all involved.

Many visitors to the island were present for event, and though they agreed that some of the main reasons for coming back to the island was our natural assets – the sun, sea and sand – the consensus was that the number one reason was the sincerity and warmth of the Barbadian people. For that reason, they returned to the island over and over to enjoy our culture and people, leaving with thoughts of how soon they could return to enjoy once again. Hall remarked about the need to find ways to integrate the public into this initiative, where they could benefit on a micro level.

“If the Barbadian people are the true reason our visitors keep coming back, that true, Barbadian experience, we have to find more effective ways to help the public see themselves reflected in the Barbados tourism mirror. That will then transform the industry into what it is really supposed to be.”

It is a concept that truly needs to be grasped by all Barbadians, where, yes it is about the tourists, but also about direct benefits to the people, and in turn the nation. The tourism dollar must trickle from the top down through avenues and pathways to achieve the goal of a product that is of, for and by the people.
 

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