Barbados is stepping up efforts to expand its tourism footprint across Europe and Eastern markets, with a focus on strengthening airlift from Manchester and deepening engagement in Eastern Europe, according to Tourism Minister Ian Gooding-Edghill.
The plan was outlined during the Tourism Industry update at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Friday.
Gooding-Edghill said that although there had been strong success with European destinations, Eastern Europe was a major priority. His immediate target, however, was to secure airlift from a major English city, Manchester, in the north of England.
“Eastern Europe is a priority for us. I’m advised that additional officers to be positioned to help us with the Eastern market, hopefully should be in place by the end of the year or certainly by early January…. That is important because Eastern Europe constitutes a lot of wealth and we want to ensure that we drive additional European business.”
He highlighted the importance of Manchester’s participation in summer tourism and the government’s efforts to boost connections there.
“Of special interest to Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. has to be the fact that Manchester has to come on board. We have to find creative ways of getting Manchester into Barbados in the summer.”
Although Barbados had an attractive summer market, the challenge remained the price point, said the minister.
“I will continue to encourage the BTMI to ensure that we have airlift coming out of Manchester. I will also be personally involved, as I have been doing, in driving that agenda item because I believe it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to attempt to not only go back into the trough, but also to ensure that we can emerge from that trough and also reduce seasonality across Barbados.”
The minister said increased marketing would go a long way towards achieving the government’s goals, aided by advances in artificial intelligence. “We’re going to have to do a little bit more in terms of what we’re going to do in Canada in order to drive additional business in terms of the marketing.”
Gooding-Edghill said: “We will have a heavy AI influence as part of the strategy and part of the approach, and I commit to you that we are going to, in terms of how we market Barbados as a destination, we are going to do it and make some fundamental changes because we believe that Barbados…. As we all know, there’s significant demand there, but at the same time, what we have to do is to ensure we use the power of artificial intelligence.”
Andrea Franklin, chief executive of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., underscored the benefits of diversification into Latin America and niche European markets.
She said: “We are expanding our reach into new global markets. We are strengthening our ties with targeted African markets where cultural connection, shared history, and rising outbound travel align with Barbados’ strengths. We are unlocking high-value luxury-driven travel demand from the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait, and we are also looking at other new options, including East Asia and the oceanic regions, where travel ambition and international exposure are rapidly increasing.”
These diversification efforts would give Barbados greater stability and flexibility and help protect the island from the shocks of any single market, Franklin suggested.
She said improving visitor experience and service excellence remained key.
“A seamless visitor experience is non-negotiable. This includes professional taxi and transport services, efficient port entry, elevated hospitality training, clean, accessible public spaces, [and] a digital way of finding tools.”
She asked: “How are we catering to our Latin American tourists, as you know, we are now in that market. How many of you have menus that have been translated to foreign languages? How many of you are opening your kitchens later to accommodate the Latin American tourists? These are all things that will make the experience memorable for them.”
Franklin also made a renewed call for national commitment to service excellence. “A renewed national commitment to service excellence is where we need to move to. At BTMI, we are already in discussions with the Barbados Chamber of Commerce on how we can implement a National Service Excellence initiative, and we welcome other agencies to get on board.”
She continued: “We began our exit surveys over a year ago, and while we are still seen as a friendly, welcoming destination, we can see where there is room for improvement, and we will continue to share this information with all the relevant agencies because we all have a part to play in this national effort.”
The BTMI chief placed the onus on all of Barbados to achieve success: “The visitor experience is built by all of us.” (LG)
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