Live in Barbados

Our little island was featured on ABC Good Morning America yesterday!

Thanks for sending this through Clarke!

Crop Over in Barbados is where we Trinis, at least those who are not doing the North American summer jaunts, head after Carnival to continue having a good time. The festival took its name from the days of slavery when the end of the sugar harvest would take place. Crop Over, having been reintroduced in 1973 by the then Board of Tourism, after it had been absent for many years, is the second largest economic activity after Christmas to reap the island a handsome revenue each year.

See full article here.

Barbados will soon have a direct non-stop flight from South America.

Starting Summer 2010, GOL, the second largest airline in Brazil, will operate a Boeing 737 from Sao Paulo to Bridgetown once a week on Saturdays, with same-plane connections to Buenos Aires, Argentina and connections to Rio de Janeiro at no additional cost.  This will be the second scheduled service from Sao Paulo in Barbados’ history. In the mid-nineties, BWIA operated a flight from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago through Barbados to Sao Paulo.

The new service was born out of meetings which the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA), aided by Hon. Consul to Brazil, Jorge Nemr, held with GOL in Sao Paulo and in Barbados in August and September last year. Since then the parties have been in constant contact via e-mail and telephone. The flight will be promoted from March, 2010.

See full article here.

The BTA are really coming up with some great ideas to help bring people to the island!

Barbadians living in the UK had an opportunity to meet with the nation’s Prime Minister, David Thompson, when he traveled to London on September 25 for a week long visit.

A major aspect of this trip was a special event in Reading, Berkshire, where he announced the launch of Barbados Family and Friends (BFF) Club, a unique initiative, developed by the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA). Targeting the Barbados Diaspora in key overseas markets, the aim of the scheme is to increase visitor arrivals to Barbados by rewarding members who encourage people to travel to Barbados, whether they are friends, family, neighbours or colleagues.

Members of the BFF Club can earn points for each visitor they refer, who travels to Barbados. Points will be awarded on air travel to Barbados as well as for accommodation in hotels and guesthouses.

See full article here.

The island of Barbados recently unveiled in New York, the design and concept behind its new ‘Long Live Life’ campaign developed by MMG Worldwide. The destination brand campaign is a celebration of the island’s rich history, culture, food and music, bringing to life the vibrant passion for life reflected by Barbadian nationals. Visitors to Barbados Tourism Authority’s web site, www.VisitBarbados.org, will soon discover a newly re-launched, interactive site, set to launch November 2009, designed as the centralized hub for interacting with all things Barbados, as well as creating an easy to use ‘tool’ to tailor-make an experiential Barbados vacation.

See full article.

A positive report amongst the market place; www.traveldailynews.com confirm the BTA are doing a good job and that Barbados is still a key favourite amongst Tropical Sky’s customers.

British Airways Barbados Flights on Sale from ₤469, Sale Ends Sept 22.

Flights, Hotels and Holidays with British Airways – BA.com.

Other sports include netball, left, and cricket, where Graham Hick is one of the star coaches

This is the Barbados Sports Camp, a smart idea dreamt up by the tourist board to attract more people to the island after the summer Crop Over Festival, when the number of visitors traditionally dips. Now in its third year, the scheme is proving a success with almost the full summer quota signed up by the first day.

It’s an attractive idea to kids who dream of seeing their picture one day on the cover of Fifa’s annual computer game – which sadly seems to have supplanted scoring the winning goal in a World Cup Final as the top footie ambition – not least because it is led by British and Caribbean sporting icons. For the parents, there’s the added attraction that it’s free (though you do have to buy a holiday to Barbados in the first place).

Source: Sign up for sun, sea and sport on Barbados

Following on from my blog posted on July 25th, “Tourism Ministry eyes up emerging markets to increase tourism” I would like to bring your attention to an article posted today on The West Indian Newspaper website.

The article highlights the importance of tapping into the Chinese tourist market to assist in our regional tourism sector staying strong. The language barrier being the most obvious problem, Minister of Economic Affairs and Empowerment, Innovation, Trade, Industry and Commerce, David Estwick, urged local educational institutions to improve on their Chinese language educational opportunities.

According to the Associated Press, Guyana’s first casino is to be opened later this year by the Turkish developer, Princess Group Hotels and Casinos.

The group has pledged to invest $2 million USD into the project that will see local accomodation upgraded to a five star hotel and the construction of the gambling venue.

Their spokesperson, Oguz Tayanc, said the development near the capital Georgetown, should create about 150 jobs.

The project falls in line with the government’s recent attempts to attract more visitors by declaring that any developer who built a hotel with 150 plus rooms would automatically qualify for the required gaming license!

Guyanna is a member of  the 15 countries that form CARICOM.  As recent as last week, CARICOM held a four-day summit to discuss methods of boosting their struggling economies!

Although the neighbouring island of Canoan is home to a Trump Casino, Barbados only permits slot machines and other monitored betting such as at the horse races.

Question?

What are your thoughts on Barbados’s gambling activity? Should the government be considering gaming as an alternative type of tourism? How would Barbados property sales, rentals, and values be affected?