Adding Value to the Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry is the major economic activity of Barbados, and though under stress in recent years, offers great opportunities for employment and is still the major source of foreign exchange earnings for the country. There is a sense however, that we are not stimulating market demand sufficiently in this increasingly competitive field. As a result of the global financial crisis the stress cracks have become more noticeable and there are calls to improve the tourism product and the promotion of Tourism.

Barbados has much going for it as a holiday destination and as an international business domicile, two activities that that are complementary to each other. Visitors to our shores speak highly of the hospitality of Barbadians and their natural tendency to offer help with directions or to talk about Barbadian culture.

Over the years there has been a consistent improvement in the quality of accommodations, diversity of cuisine. An improvement of the physical infrastructure includes expansion of the Grantley Adams International Airport, improved road systems and an investment in the rehabilitation of Bridgetown, Oistins and Speightstown. This remains a work in progress as we continue to develop.

There is a sense however, that we are missing a key element that will take tourism in Barbados to a new level. The visitors of today are interested in the history, culture, geology and the flora and fauna of the island. They look for linkages between Barbados and their own past and seek to find out more about how Barbados fits in with the global network of nations and the movement of people over the centuries. Today’s visitor is a seeker of knowledge and to add value to the Barbadian experience we should meet that demand.

Barbadian history is a rich treasure trove of the fabric of Africa and Europe weaving the tapestry of the New World. European wars were fought in our waters for centuries and we were crucibles of intellectual and political ferment for much of that time. It is long past time for us to take a mature view of our past and to develop information about the movement of people and the family linkages that exist between Barbados and the Barbadian Diaspora that literally extends to the four corners of the earth.

By developing the knowledge based holiday experience Barbados can carve out new markets and appeal to the more sophisticated traveler. Climate, hospitality, cuisine and accommodations are already in our corner by adding knowledge a whole new area of interest can be opened up and new support activities developed.

To some extent, there are pockets of the knowledge based aspect of the hospitality industry in place. George Washington House, The Barbados Museum, Nicholas Abbey, Andromeda Gardens and the spectacular natural amphitheatre garden at Hunt’s Nursery but to mention a few. What is needed is a coordinated effort to expand on these disparate efforts and linking them together.

It is time for us to put in place a focused program to develop and market the information experience of Barbados from the spectacular folding of the earth’s crust at Cattlewash demonstrating the power of the tectonic plate movement that thrusts Barbados out of the ocean to the Jacobean houses of Nicholas Abbey and Drax Hall; from the sailing ships of Drake, Rodney and Nelson to the U Boats of the Second World War. The first six governors of the Carolinas and Eric Holder’s forefathers are part of the Barbadian Diaspora, how many more can trace their passage through Barbados?

By developing the Barbadian Story in the context of our history and the reach of our people we will place a new Barbados on the map as a place of interest to be enjoyed by all.