Barbados Tourism Chief Says Hotel Brands, Airlift Key Issues

Richard Sealy, tourism minister of Barbados, is big on branding and wants to see more of it on his island. “As a tourism destination, we are a little weak right now in that area,” he said. “It’s a problem, especially for the U.S. market. Americans respond well to brand names.”

U.S. visitors topped the 135,000 mark last year, up 2.5 percent over last year, and Canada accounted for 53,000 visitors, up 5 percent. Barbados welcomed 575,000 stayover visitors in 2007, up 2.1 percent over 2006. The bulk of visitors came from Europe, especially Britain.

Barbados spends more of its marketing dollars in the U.S. than anywhere else, and “we should get more visitors than we do,” Sealy said.

Sealy’s pretty clear about his priorities as tourism minister: additional airlift, more investment, expanded hotel brand presence and upgrades in the destination’s tourism plant.

Greater foreign investment in Barbados’ tourism product is needed, especially in the branding area, according to Sealy.

He pointed out that the Barbados Hilton “does far better with U.S. tourists than with British visitors. Hilton is a known and respected U.S. brand. If we can succeed in luring more brands to Barbados, we can do more business.”