Tourism sector prepares to welcome back source markets
Article by May 15, 2021
Over the past 18 months, the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport and the agencies under its portfolio have been working diligently to prepare for the reopening of its source markets for leisure and business travel.
Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Senator Lisa Cummins, spoke about some of that work Friday morning during the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.’s (BTMI) launch of the new Brand Barbados promotional campaign entitled “Little Island Big Barbados”.
“Managing these times is challenging…. 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….
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The Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) virtually relaunched Barbados’ tourism brand to the world earlier today, unveiling the new brand theme “Little Island; Big Barbados”.
The event witnessed by partners from all sectors of Barbados’ tourism industry, representatives of related Government ministries and private sector agencies, was also followed by an international audience including several people involved in the travel trade.
They were given a detailed presentation on plans to make a strong re-entry into the global tourism market following the decimation of the tourism industry worldwide by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Minister of Tourism Senator Lisa Cummins said as Barbados prepared to welcome visitors again, the emphasis would be on safe reopening and she encouraged Barbadians, particularly those working in the tourism sector, to get vaccinated. She said this was for their protection and would engender a sense of confidence in prospective
Barbados Tourism looking for new CEO
1 hour ago
The current interim CEO is leaving to take on a new responsibility with the Grenada Tourism Authority.
Applications are being accepted through May 27, 2021.
The current Interim CEO, Petra Roach, is leaving to head to Grenada to take up a new opportunity with the Grenada Tourism Authority.
The year 2020 saw the global tourism industry experience change at rapid and unprecedented levels, creating major challenges for the industry but also resulting in new growth opportunities for premier destinations. The new CEO will develop appropriate strategies for the effective management of the marketing function for Barbados to maximize the contribution of tourism to national economic and social goals.
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Some of the participants in the COVID-19 sensitisation training for tourism workers, May 13, 2021. (Picture by Reco Moore) Social Share
The Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) is continuing COVID-19 sensitisation training exercises with frontline workers in the tourism sector.
Manager, Product Development (Innovation & Strategy), Terry Vanterpool-Fox, while speaking during a session at Hilton Barbados this morning, said that the programme last year was a success as many workers in the transport sector were trained and received certification.
She said there were more than 1 400 transport providers, including taxi operators and public service vehicle drivers and more than 700 were trained.
Vanterpool-Fox said there was evidence that the sessions were meaningful and producing positive results. She pointed out that during a workshop last month the head of the COVID Monitoring Unit Ronald Chapman announced that none of the taxi operators had a record of transfer
May 11, 2021
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today Inc.
by Guy Hewitt
The frantic search for a CEO of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) is matched in recent memory only by the hunt for Winston Hall.
But this is no laughing matter for tourism is the lifeblood of our economy, accounting in 2019 for 36.2 per cent of GDP. Due to COVID-19, thousands of households: workers, managers and owners alike are under immense financial pressure but political interference is making a bad situation worse.
In 2019, William ‘Billy’ Griffith, the BTMI CEO credited with turning around Barbados’ tourism product and bringing record numbers of visitors, advised he was relinquishing his job to give the organisation an opportunity to recruit a new leader and ensure a smooth transition. This is now 2021 and still no one is in post. We can only presume that he was pushed.