Tourism

STATEMENT FROM THE BHTA

We are pleased to hear the Minister’s announcements regarding the upcoming summer promotion. We of course welcome the positive news of promotional support for the tourism industry as well as the airlift initiatives over the coming summer months.

The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) has been collaborating with our partners at the Barbados Tourism Marketing Tourism Inc., (BTMI) to try to ensure that the industry continues to get the needed attention and impetus for growth.

The planned charter with Bahamas Air offers us the opportunity to address a critical challenge we are currently facing with respect to the cost of airlift from all of our markets including our key United States market. With the advertised flight fares of US$599 return from Fort Lauderdale, commencing in the pre-Crop Over period of July 18 and continuing with the final of five planned flights on August 15, it positions us not only to capture travellers from South Florida, but also those coming from Eastern gateways and other geographic segments which would have previously benefitted from this Fort Lauderdale connection.

There is already interest being demonstrated by Barbadians wishing to exploit these great rates for the return leg and we will be using every channel available to us to promote this to travellers in the

market.

The summer promotion mentioned by our Minister of Tourism will be launched for the post Crop Over period and has a booking window from now until mid-October for persons who are travelling to Barbados during the period ending October 31, which is usually one of the most challenging of the summer.

We anticipate that this promotion will incentivize persons who can benefit from the additional value-added offer of Bds$200 per person to explore the island as the travel vouchers can only be used at attractions, restaurants and other providers. This gives visitors an anticipated six thousand (6,000) service providers to choose from, which will definitely include our BHTA Direct Tourism Services members.

What is especially pleasing is that one of our newest members – Oistins Bay Gardens and numerous other similar vendors and suppliers across the island will also be eligible to participate; which reinforcing to everyone the value that tourism brings and its tremendous multiplier effect.

The information regarding the tax reduction from Minister of Tourism Gooding-Edghill was a reminder of the announcement made during the recent budget speech. As you may recall, the Prime Minister Mottley said then, that the Air travel and Tourism Development Fee for Caricom travel would be reduced by 47% from $US37.50 to US$20 effective July 1 , 2023. This is critical as we seek to rebuild inter-regional travel, an area where we were unfortunately most hard hit from COVID.

With InterCaribbean adding more flights and the recent announcement from Virgin of access to travel within its Grenada and St. Vincent routes to persons interested in journeying to and from these islands from Barbados, we are cautiously optimistic that we are trending in the right direction.

We hope to be announcing partnerships and packages between the BHTA and these Airline entities in the near future. Overall, we are hopeful that we will see improvements over the coming months and that winter 2023/24 will be a strong one.

BHTA Chairman

Renée Coppin

Tourism

BARBADIAN REUBEN LEROY BROWNE NAMED GENERAL MANAGER AT WYNDHAM GRAND BARBADOS SAM LORDS CASTLE

Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle has appointed Barbadian Reuben Leroy Browne as General Manager of the all-inclusive luxury resort in St. Philip.

With over 30 years of experience in the tourism industry with major international brands across the Caribbean, Browne will be responsible for the hotel’s operations including enhancing guest experiences and revenue growth, while focusing on strategic planning, resource management and prioritizing environmental and social responsibility activities, among other tasks.

The new General Manager, who took up the post last month (October), said, “Over the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of getting to know our amazing team and exploring everything our beautiful resort has to offer. Our team is truly dedicated, and together we are committed to enhancing the guest experience as we approach the winter season.

“I’m proud to share that all of our resort’s food and beverage outlets are all operational, including the Mediterranean Restaurant for all-day dining, Sam Lords Grill, and our signature fine-dining venue, Castle View. Our Lucy’s Lounge, named in honor of Sam Lords’ wife, adds a unique touch to the resort, and we also have six well-appointed bars throughout the property to cater to our guests’ needs.”

He added that the spa, 24 hour gym and Kid’s Club are also functioning at full steam for both locals and visitors to utlise and said, “Our next steps will be to fill key vacancies starting with the Director of Sales and Marketing. We are also continuing our promotion of the property in key source markets at events such as World Travel Market in London, which our Revenue Manager attended earlier this month.”

Browne, who has a strong educational background from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and several management development programmes, most recently served as General Manager of an all-inclusive 294 suite property in Antigua.

Since starting his career in the industry in 1984, he has developed a successful track record in various leadership roles including Food and Beverage Manager, Operations Manager, Residence Manager, Director of Operations and Chief Commercial Officer at renowned hotels and resorts in Barbados and the region.

An active member in various professional associations including the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) and past member of the Downtown Nassau Partnership, he also dedicates his time to charitable endeavors including the Optimist Club. (PR)

Caption: Barbadian Reuben Leroy Browne has been appointed General Manager of the all-inclusive Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle.

Tourism

BHTA BARBADOS NATIONAL CULINARY TEAM OFF TO TASTE OF THE CARIBBEAN 2024

Members of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) Barbados National Culinary Team left the island last Saturday to compete in the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) Taste of the Caribbean, which takes place in Miami from November 18 to 20.

They are Chef Rynaldo Joseph, Junior Chef Dejuan Toppin, Pastry Chef Rickeena Kirton and Mixologist Alex Chandler, along with Team Manager Adrian Cumberbatch, Assistant Team Manager Javon Cummins and Coaches Damian Leach and Rohan Hackshaw.

Cumberbatch noted that the team is ready to put their best plates and beverages forward: “There has been a lot of preparation over the past few weeks to get everyone ready for the competition. Our focus was on strengthening a number of areas ranging from time management to concepts and flavor profiles. After weeks of hard work and dedication I can confidently say that the team members are all ready to showcase their talent and skills and to make Barbados proud.”

BHTA’s Special Projects Manager, Tessalee Moore, who is among a BHTA contingent, including Chairman Javon Griffith and CEO Ryan Forde, attending Taste to support the team, explained that the Association was more than happy to be facilitating the process to get team Barbados to the prestigious event.

Caption: Members of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) Barbados National Culinary Team at the GAIA yesterday with BHTA CEO Ryan Forde (left) and Special Projects Manager Tessalee Moore (second from left) on the way to the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) Taste of the Caribbean in Miami.

“We are extremely happy that Taste is back and that Barbados can attend and defend our title as Caribbean Team of the Year. But beyond that, for the BHTA, Taste is more than a competition. It is also a major training and developmental tool for our chefs and mixologists as it provides educational opportunities by way of seminars, workshops and demonstrations on the trends and emerging concepts in Food and Beverage.

“While we would love Team Barbados to bring home gold and the bragging rights as Team of the Year again, we equally want the members to gain from this experience in a way that will propel their careers and for them to willingly share their knowledge with their peers when they return. This is their opportunity to showcase their skills on an international platform and we want them to take full advantage of that opportunity.” (PR)

Tourism

EXPLORA 11 DOCKS FOR THE FIRST TIME

The Explora II docked at the Port of Bridgetown for the first time yesterday, bringing 427 passengers to the island’s shore.

During a plaque exchange ceremony on board the vessel, Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding- Edghill, thanked Captain Serena Melani for guiding what he described as a “magnificent” ship into the Port of Bridgetown.

“We certainly want to thank you and your team on board, and certainly the executives at MSC, for taking the opportunity to continue to have the confidence in Barbados as a home port,” he said.

Captain of the vessel, Serena Melani, who was the first woman in cruise industry history to captain a new ocean cruise ship launch in February 2020, said it was “nice to be back”, and that she was happy to bring another vessel to the Barbados. She previously brought the Explora I to the island during the 2023-2024 winter season.

*Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding Edghill & Captain Serena Melani*

The Explora Journeys’ Explora II transatlantic cruise itinerary, which began in Barcelona, Spain, will make six homeporting visits to Barbados during the 2024-2025 winter season.

The next port of call for the cruise vessel is Fort-de-France, Martinique.

In addition to the Explora II, the Port of Bridgetown also welcomed the MSC Magnifica for the first time. Britannia P&O and Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas also docked yesterday, bringing a total of 8,000 visitors to the island. (PR/GIS)