By Caribbean News Global contributor
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — The Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., (BTMI) launched the story of Barbados through a new brand Barbados campaign entitled “Little Island Big Barbados”, as the island prepares to welcome back source markets, according to GIS reports, Friday, May 14.
The three core elements of the campaign are personality, tone and pattern mosaic which will centre around promoting Barbados’ niche areas such as cuisine, heritage, nature, our people, as well as Barbados being a safe destination to travel to during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barbados being “big” on personalities, flavours, legacy, family, vibes, adventure, love, sports and music will be utilised in the activities to market the island, including events:
- Little Barbados Big Summer;
- Little Island Big Treasure Hunt;
- Barbados in a Box Workshop, which will see Betty West tutor visitors on how to make a crop over costume;
- A national mural competition; events targeted at achieving Guinness Book of records titles; and,
- The relaunch of some attractions, such as Harrison’s Cave.
Ministry of tourism and international transport, Senator Lisa Cummins, speaking on the campaign, affirmed: “We are standing here proud of this little, big island. We are little in size, population, geopolitical significance and ready resources, but we are big on ambition, big on resilience, big on facing and fixing problems. […] We are big on travel and tourism; we are big on the people who constitute our tourism and travel industry [and] we are big on destination Barbados.”
Interim head of Global Markets, BTMI, Cheryl Carter, gave an overview of the expected airlift operations for the remainder of the year, which include airlines moving from two and four-day operations to daily operations, with some airlines having two flights per day, starting in November.
Barbados will also welcome Aer Lingus, an Irish airline to Barbados in October, with three flights a week.
“Our partners tell us that there’s significant pent up demand for Barbados, and against the backdrop of our management of COVID-19 and the recent introduction of new protocols, they’re seeing a tremendous increase in demand, especially from October through winter 2021 to 2022”, Carter said.
Visit https://www.visitbarbados.org/ Bajan Stories, “For decades Barbadians have left their mark across the Caribbean and the globe. From Rihanna in music to Sir Garfield Sobers in Barbados cricket, whether it’s our official ambassadors, our Shining Stars or simply the People In Your Neighborhood, you can read about their accomplishments or their claim to fame in the beautiful island of Barbados.”
Meanwhile, Barbados prepares to welcome back source markets – discover the Island someone once said that: “There’s never a dull moment in Barbados”, well, that’s an understatement! 1500 rum shops, 57 named beaches, four towns, tasty Bajan cuisine around every corner, caves to explore, trails to hike and breathtaking scenes for the shutterbug in you. With so much to discover … What are you waiting for? Visit …!
“Managing in these times is challenging …” said Senator Lisa Cummins, at the BTMI launch Friday. “ It has been planning for the worst but preparing for the best. It has been about risk mitigation and adaptation. It has been about reasoned analysis and unchecked rhetoric masquerading as commentary. It has been about encouraging and supporting while setting standards and enforcing them […] “But we stood our ground and showed our resilience for destination Barbados … and we are investing in a rebranding of our destination after COVID-19 and volcanic ash in the international arena,” minister Cummins said, while calling on people to get vaccinated ahead of the re-opening of the sector.
“We want our businesses reopened and our workers back to work. We want to feel safe. […] So far, we have vaccinated over 75,000 persons and our government’s goal is to immunise 80 to 90 percent of adults to reach herd immunity. We still have a distance to go, but I am confident that by working together, this can be achieved,” minister Cummins asserted.
– With a file for GIS.
