In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Corey Garrett, Director Latin America of BTMI, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.
What are the main objectives for visiting Argentina again?
First of all, I want to thank you on behalf of Barbados and BTMI for being big supporters of our destination brand over the last three or four years. And that is exactly what we are looking for. More support, more key destination partners here in Argentina. Again, Argentina is one of those markets that is very high on our radar, however, we understand the global situation when it comes to aviation and aircraft manufacturing, with companies like Boeing, and also issues like inflation and so on. But we still see a lot of traction and progress in Latin America and Argentina in particular, which we know is a wealth market for us.
But primarily this year, we have taken a very different approach. Rather than having a big space and a big exhibition stand, we are really focusing on those key partners, the media in the sector and trade partners, those who may be listening or watching the show from the aviation sector and those other big decision-making sectors in the region, to say to them that Barbados is really here and open for business, not just to sell sunshine and silver, but we have seen the recent developments in the airspace for our competitors like Jamaica, and we are also inviting Latin American airlines to fly to Barbados.
What is the connectivity situation?
We have a flight four times a week with a great partner, Copa Airlines, but our main interest is definitely to get the support of more Latin American airlines. Demand is increasing, we need more seats, necessarily from Copa or possibly from another partner.
Barbados has sun and sand, but it has much more to offer…
Exactly, there is a lot to do in Barbados. We are a destination that not only has a great sun, sea and sand product in terms of beaches, but we are also very strong in gastronomy. We are the culinary capital of the Caribbean, with over 600 restaurants of different types, from high-end restaurants to food truck areas and different dining experiences. That, of course, is also tied to our deep rum history. We are the inventors of rum, and this is something we are making a lot of noise about.
How are events developed at the destination?
Any type of event you want to think of, whether it's a festival or a carnival, can be held in Barbados. This October is tied to our food history with the Food and Rum Festival, but we also have sporting festivals, such as the Barbados Marathon weekend, which is coming up in December this year. And of course, we also have carnivals, our harvest festival. But throughout the year, you can check out the Barbados Activities Calendar, which is over 200 pages long and allows any traveller to choose the type of activity they want.
We are also establishing our base as a sports hub throughout the Caribbean. There are so many sports played in Barbados, and the history of sports, of course, transcends our hemisphere. Latin Americans are big fans of grass sports. We are also surrounded by water. We host the World Surf League championships. There is also windsurfing in Barbados. And I must talk about golf, as we have seven incredible courses. In December we will sign an incredible agreement to become the official destination marketing partner of the PGA. There are many different areas that we can link Barbados to Latin America.
But we also want to talk about business and have the support of consumer and lifestyle brands. And as I mentioned, this also extends to the travel industry. We are not trying to invite competition for Copa Airlines, but we are also a market and we need more numbers coming from Latin America. We have seen what our competitors are doing in terms of increasing accessibility to Latin America and we want to do the same. We want to bring more people from Panama, people from Miami. But we also have the opportunity to bring people from Bogota, possibly from Lima, in Peru. And there are possibilities from Sao Paulo. So I am letting it be known that in the Barbados destination we are back in business.
What news can you tell us about in terms of hotel investment and development?
There is a lot of development of new hotels coming online, in addition to the existing hotel product. We have at least six hotels opening in the next two years, such as the Pendry, Hyatt and Ziva. In addition, there is a small boutique brand called Blue Monkey Hotel & Beach Club that was launched recently, four hundred and twenty-two rooms, and they are doing extremely well, especially in the event management business. That is exactly what we are trying to achieve, to make people aware of the existing hotel base and that there are more hotels, more experiences, all online.
Furthermore, Barbados is becoming a cutting-edge destination in terms of digitalisation. We are employing a lot of digital tactics, not only in our marketing, but also within our product, because we want to continuously engage our consumers on the ground, keep them updated with various itineraries and even for that, we are transforming our website.
We are making Barbados a destination that is accessible in relevant languages, Portuguese or Spanish, for people coming in. We want the destination to be as open as possible from a business level and also for the consumer.
In the case of Latin America, we have neighbors who have very close similarities in terms of culture, food, in the way they like to express themselves and enjoy themselves in terms of festivals and events and we need to connect them. And that is the mission right now, to connect people. And while we are doing that, we are also sharing, because I mentioned that Barbados is an international aviation hub, not only with direct flights to Latin America, which we hope to increase, but with flights to most international cities in the United States, the United Kingdom, etc.
But we also want to encourage people to know that there are smaller islands, like Grenada or St. Lucia, that they can connect with through Barbados. Barbados is actually a gateway to opportunity and we are showing people that it is easy to travel to Barbados and beyond. That is the whole message we are getting across this year at FIT.
We are coming to the end of the year, how do you see the next season?
I see a very progressive season. What I can say is that they show that the markets are growing at an extraordinary pace, even above 2023, with a little over 65% recovery in arrivals compared to 2018. And then in 2024, we are just over 45% compared to 2023. Latin Americans are interested in Barbados. We are trying to find more ways to attract them, we need more airlines, more aircraft and cruise business.
Barbados is also a homeport destination, so cruises can be taken throughout the Caribbean from Barbados. The destination is multifaceted, accessible and is looking for business now in the greater Latin America.