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DESTINATION BARBADOS ON DISPLAY IN BRAZIL

Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) returned from Brazil following its successful participation at World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America and a media tour in which members of the BTMI showcased the Caribbean destination to Brazilian media, travel professionals and consumers, accompanied by a delegation of the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport.

The delegation present at WTM included the Minister of Tourism and International Transport, the Hon. Ian Gooding-Edghill, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, Francine Blackman; Chairwoman of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), Shelly Williams; Director of Latin America, the Caribbean and Sports of the BTMI, Corey Garrett; Ambassador of Barbados to Brazil, Tonika Sealy-Thompson, Executive Director Intimate Hotels of Barbados, Davina Layne; and Cruise Senior Business Development Officer at BTMI, Tia Broomes.

The tour kicked-off with an intimate event celebration at Fasano Hotel in Sao Paulo, where a select group of media, influencers and trade contacts were invited to discover the best of the destination through cocktail offerings, music and art.

“Barbados and Brazil have a more than 500-year long history of connection, despite the fact that the Barbados-Brazil trade relationship is still largely underexplored given the size of the opportunity and we share significant cultural ties, not only due to proximity, but among the core elements of our shared experiences are sports, cuisine, festivals, beaches and luxury. Our historical connections and cultural similarities also allow many opportunities for collaboration between the two in the areas of sports, higher education, language-learning, and business.” said the Minister of Tourism and International Transport of Barbados, the Hon. Ian Gooding-Edghill during the evening event.

Latin America continues to be an extremely important market for Barbados, and Brazil, one of the major consumer markets from the region. During this year’s WTM and following a successful participation in 2022, Barbados presented its unique destination offerings to Brazilian travel specialists and consumers, showcasing tourist hotspot ‘Rihanna Drive’ in their booth design. The destination brought together the elements that Rihanna herself holds most dear creating an experience that is trending, authentic and showcases the essence of the island. The concept has been incorporated into different events throughout LATAM and will continue its presence at local events taking place over the next year.

Cultural event

The cultural evening event at Fasano brought local mixologists, Shane Mclean and Phillip “Casanova” Antoine to showcase the flavors of the birthplace of rum, crafting a selection of rum cocktails representative of the destination. The event also featured a musical performance by local singer Ashleigh Phillips, accompanied by an art display created by contemporary multidisciplinary Barbadian artist Sheena Rose. The evening concluded with a prize giveaway, in which a lucky winner was awarded a week-long, all expenses paid trip to Barbados.

Deeper relationship with Latin America

Barbados will further deepen the relationship with the Latin American market through the opening of a new office in Panama City. The Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Hon. Ian Gooding-Edghill, announced that this will aid Barbados in continuing to strengthen the relationship and marketing efforts in the region and further demonstrate the confidence in this market for the growth of the tourism industry.

With the return of the Copa Airlines flight connecting Barbados to LATAM countries, the destination has facilitated the arrivals of thousands of travelers, including those looking to enjoy the destination under Barbados’ 12-month welcome-stamp visa.

Latin America is poised to be an important market for the growth of the tourism industry and trade relations with different partners in the region. Barbados has continued to see an increase in arrivals from Brazilian and Latin American travelers and is looking to continue its growth by welcoming more visitors through direct services via Copa Airlines.

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CIBC Caribbean team cleans Drill Hall Beach

A team of about 50 volunteers from CIBC Caribbean and their families joined hundreds around the world on Saturday 21^st September for the start of the International Coastal Clean-up – the world’s largest annual volunteer effort created to tackle and clean up increasing levels of trash and debris which are impacting our delicate marine environment.

Armed with gloves and lots of energy, the team assembled on the Drill Hall Beach, St. Michael from as early as 6.30a.m., and with the help of the crew from the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) they started the task of collecting trash left by people who use the popular beach.

*Jacquelyn Boyce (right) marks off the items brought in by her team as they collect the debris*

The Barbados International Coastal Clean-up (BICC) is an annual nationwide volunteer beach cleanup event which is coordinated by Barbados’ Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN), a non-profit organization. This year the cleanup for Barbados will take place every Saturday until the end of October in an attempt to tackle and prevent the damage being done to our local marine environment by trash and debris on our beautiful beaches.

*The CIBC Caribbean team armed with the gloves and bags just before setting off on their clean-up mission*

On Saturday, all materials collected were carefully catalogued and recorded as the CYEN team uses this information to report into the international network to which they belong, about the items found on beaches across the region.

Within a two-hour window, the CIBC Caribbean team had collected 108.39 kgs of garbage which included food wrappers and containers, plastic beverage bottles, clothing, pieces of glass, cups, plates, grocery bags, micro plastics and bottle caps. They also removed pieces of wood and a discarded office chair with wheels. The group also moved the fallen dry palm tree fronds to a large pile for further removal.

*Sean Bostic and Krystle Maynard (right holding card) present the sponsorship card to Shannon Weekes and Jabari Jones of the CYEN*

“The cleanup at Drill Hall Beach highlights the ongoing commitment of Barbadians to safeguarding our coastal environment. As we work together to remove harmful debris, we not only protect our marine ecosystems but also strengthen our communities. Each piece of litter removed is a step toward a healthier, more sustainable future for Barbados, and we are proud to have CIBC contributing to this vital cause year after year. This effort is a reminder that protecting our beaches is not just an annual event but a shared responsibility for all of us,” stated National Coordinator for the CYEN in Barbados Shannon Weekes.

The bank also took the opportunity to present the CYEN with a donation towards their work in keeping the beaches clean by organising the clean-up exercises this year. The super-size credit card was presented by Krystle Maynard from the Treasury Department and Sean Bostic Senior Manager, Business Analysis, Performance & Analytics.

This is the third year that the bank has participated in the beach cleanup. Other beaches they have tackled include Sam Lord’s Castle Beach, St. Philip and Pirate’s Cove Beach in Bridgetown. (PR)

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VENEZUELANS TO VOTE SUNDAY JULY 28

Venezuela’s opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, says he trusts the country’s military to ensure respect for the result of Sunday’s presidential election. Speaking during a press conference on Friday, Mr. Gonzalez declared that the Opposition, is going to win because millions of Venezuelans want change.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, has attracted significant support, even from former supporters of the ruling socialist party.

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Mr Deejay first on stage at Finals

First-timer to the competition Mr Deejay will be start the competition when the Courtesy Garage Pic O De Crop Finals comes of next Friday, August 2 at the National Botanical Gardens at 8 p.m.

This is the first time in the history of the competition that a visually-impaired contestant has made it to the Finals. The Courtesy Garage Pic O De Crop Finals Draw was held Wednesday, July 24 at Courtesy’s Wildey showroom. There were no switches.

Reigning Monarch iWeb will perform at No. 15. I-Web was unable to attend the draw. However, his manager Brian Corbin was present and pulled on his behalf. TC pulled for Tae who came later while Merle Niles pulled for Biggie Irie who was present. The other finalists were present as well as tent managers, relatives andwell-wishers.

National Cultural Foundation Chief Executive Officer Carol Robers announced that the Finals will be streamed to Barbadians free of cost as a gift for the 50^th anniversary of Crop Over. Courtesy Garage’s Regional Product Manager Samuel Gaston reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the festival.

*NCF CEO Carol Roberts (left) (EDIT) Courtesy Garage’s Regional Product Manager Samuel Gaston and Acting General Manager Andrez Greene.*

The draw took place in the Courtesy Garage showroom where the 2024 Nissan E Power X-Trail was on show. This year the winner of the Courtesy Garage Pic O De Crop Competition has the option of driving away a brand new Nissan vehicle valued at $136 000 or take $100 000 in cash. Second place gets $40 000;

third place $20 000 and fourth place takes home $15 000. 5^th place gets $10 000;