Tourist statistics for March… say hello to the Germans!

This just in…

In the interest of fairness and accuracy, retired diplomat Peter Simmons stated on Down to Brass Tacks yesterday that visitor arrivals were down 9 per cent for the first three months of 2013.

While long stay visitor arrivals were down 9 per cent in both January and February, they were only down 1.6 per cent in March.

In fact, cruise ship passenger arrivals were up by 9.2 per cent in March 2013. This is when compared with the same periods in 2012.

What was that old saying about statistics and people who use them?

Okay, so we know life is tough ’bout hey, but what does this mean…

March 2013 cruise ship passengers up 9.2% over March 2012

BUT….

March 2013 overall tourist visits down 1.6% compared to March 2012

TRANSLATION…

We had a couple of bigger boats in compared with last year, but the overall visitors are down.

The Germans are coming! The Germans are coming!

We had an extra 367 German visitors in March 2013 over March 2012. How much did those extra visitors cost us in increased BTA spending in Germany? I know you can’t look at it like that because you have to consider the cumulative impact of advertising, but while the Barbados Tourism Authority people will be happy to talk about the increase in Germans, what do they say about the loss of 385 Canadians and 1,431 Americans during the same period?

This is too heavy for me on a Thursday morning. I need a Banks…

=========================================
.                             March        March        Net YoY           YoY%
.                               2013           2012            Change
=========================================
TOTAL                53,304         54,164           -860          -1.6%
U.K                       18,550         17,601            949           5.4%
U.S.A                12,222         13,653         -1,431         -10.5%
Canada              9,086          9,471           -385          -4.1%
Germany            1,343            976            367          37.6%
Other Europe          2,825          2,459            366          14.9%
Trinidad & Tobago  2,937          2,982            -45          -1.5%
Other Caricom         4,237          4,653           -416          -8.9%
Other Countries       2,104          2,369           -265         -11.2%
===========================================
SOURCE: Barbados Statistical Service

Further Reading

Bloomberg Cruise Stats: Barbados Cruise, March 2013

Bloomberg Tourism Stats: Barbados Overall March 2013

Barbados Tourism Authority takes a ride on Wigan Athletic’s Emmerson Boyce at the Wembley final

We at BFP and many others have been saying for years that the Barbados Tourism Authority should be constantly monitoring news and current events so that when a Bajan is mentioned they can capitalise on the publicity. It’s been a pathetic lack at the BTA for a long long time. We need all the positive vibes and publicity we can get and to miss opportunities to get it for free is almost criminal.

When Adele won six Grammy awards in 2012 it never occurred to the BTA to mention that her musical director is Bajan Miles Robertson. The BTA should have been so ready because anybody could see those awards coming a year in advance – but nothing was done. Contrast the BTA with the efforts of the Aruba Tourism Authority that received world coverage for Aruba by offering a vacation to the losers of the Super Bowl. Aruba received fantastic coverage for no money.

Now we’re happy to see Petra Roach of the BTA in the UK priming the media pump about Wigan Athletic’s captain Emmerson Boyced (photo above) – who qualifies as a Bajan through his parents who both have their navel strings buried in Barbados. Hey… any positive association is welcome!

Okay… that’s one. What’s on for next week, Petra?

Bajan Pride

Barbados International Boyce to captain Wigan Athletic in the Wembley final

THE WHOLE of Barbados will be rooting for Wigan Athletic when they take on mighty Manchester City in next month’s FA Cup final.

On May 11 Wigan will be captained by Barbados international Emmerson Boyce for football’s showpiece occasion. Many on the Caribbean island, and those Bajans that live in the UK, will for 90 minutes at least be cheering on the team known as the Latics.

After securing an FA Cup final berth after beating Millwall in the semi-final, Boyce said that his team’s victory was a dream come true. “I can’t wait for the final now,” he admitted.

Though born in England, Boyce was also eligible to play for the Barbados national team through his parents, who were both born in Barbados.

Boyce’s achievement has put the popular tourist destination in the spotlight as the FA Cup is the oldest and most prestigious domestic competition in football.

Petra Roach, vice president Sales & Marketing of the Barbados Tourism Authority UK, commented: “We’re delighted that Emmerson Boyce has led his team to success in the FA Cup semi-finals, and wish him and Wigan every success for the final.

“Having represented the Barbados national football team, Bajan Pride, Emmerson is not only a friend of Barbados but a fantastic ambassador for our country.

… continue reading this article at Voice Online

Loveridge on Barbados election results: So many expectations, so little change

“We are currently facing an extended softer eight long summer months without any national marketing plan in place.”

Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

I suppose you can put in down to my naivety, so long in coming, so many great expectations and then in hindsight, the reality of the situation. Almost 40 per percent of the eligible electorate chose not to vote, the status quo re-elected for a second term by a precariously small majority and just microscopic adjustments made to the governance of an industry in crisis.

At least, that seems to be the scenario so far.

Clearly there are plus points. Irene Sandiford-Garner, appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary in the re-configured Ministry and Tourism and International Transport, when many of us years later are still puzzling why the two bodies were ever separated in the first place. The Senator brings her abilities in marketing to the table just at a time when this discipline is needed more than ever.

Shadowing the Ministry is Santia Bradshaw. While I don’t want to diminish her abundant legal qualifications, I am far from convinced that we need or want any more lawyers involved in tourism policy making. But she is also an entrepreneur and after looking at her website, I was personally impressed with the high level of presentation. Hopefully she can add value and youthful objectivity to the sector from a constructive opposition stance.

“While the global recession and the dreaded APD tax have helped stifle growth in visitor arrival numbers, they are not the sole cause of our dismal performance in tourism.”

Now is the time for solutions.  

Loveridge: Bajan government raised taxes, lowered revenues and ignored obvious tourism strategies

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

Is the predicted 6 or 7 per cent fall in long stay visitors during the month of January directly as a result of reduced promotional expenditure by the national marketing agency and if so, has anyone put a dollar value on the consequential loss of tax revenue collected by Government?

Is this yet another example of a failed policy decision, as when Government increased the level of VAT, only to find the overall amount gathered, went down and not up. According to the CBB (Central Bank) from $683.4 million in 2011 to $666.6 million in 2012. A 6 per cent decrease in arrivals when compared to January 2012 would represent  3,157 less people and 7 per cent 3,683. Last January was already down over the previous year, albeit only by 0.8 per cent according to CTO figures.

What we should be asking is how much those missing thousands would have spent and is the current dearth of funds to the Barbados Tourism Authority actually costing the industry and the nation’s coffers more than we can imagine?

It doesn’t just end with tax collection, but has to take into account increased benefit payments due to lay-offs and reduced spending by those fully employed. And how will this also impact on overall occupancy levels during the critical four winter months and economy of scale and expense caused as a result of lower lodging levels? Of course these precious winter months also command the highest rooms rates, which in many cases helps the individual hotels limp through the softer summer period.

Are ‘we’ being pennywise and pound foolish?

A regular long stay Canadian visitor asked me why the BTA did not exhibit at the recently concluded Ultimate Travel Show held in Toronto. With a population approaching 6 million people in the Greater Toronto Area , all of which live within an hour’s drive of Pearson International Airport plus an BTA office in Canada’s largest city, I could not proffer an explanation. Given the climatic conditions, the time of the year and the falling arrival numbers it didn’t seem to make any sense at all.

Barbados Tourism Authority’s strategy for failure: We don’t advertise on TV because our current customers don’t watch TV

But if BTA advertised on TV, would their current customers come from a TV watching crowd?

‘We don’t advertise on television because our market intelligence tells us that our consumers do not watch much television. It is also a very expensive medium to invest in, so unless you have the money to be consistent it makes no sense to do it. Every advertising expert we have consulted has told us the same thing’.

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

This is a verbatim quote from one of our leading tourism policymakers and it got me thinking about the merits of these views. ‘Very expensive medium’ and ‘so unless you have the money’. You cannot really argue with either of those statements. But is that the point?

I then went onto YouTube and typed in ‘tourism tv commercials’ and started trying to tally the number of destinations and tourism brands that have produced  and aired ‘ads’ within the last two years. I lost count after one hundred, so do these national marketing agencies, hotel groupings, tour operators etc., employ different advertising experts, or simply ensure their expenditure is cost effective.

Sandals Resorts for instance, recently launched a series of 45 second commercials on British television and the century old travel giant, Thomas Cook, presently have a major tv campaign to boost January holiday bookings.

So do their clients not watch ‘much television’, or is it more about where and when their ‘experts’ decide to air the ‘ads’?

Of course you could argue that many of the destinations and travel companies have bigger promotional budgets and can afford this type of medium – but in a multitude of cases, that simply isn’t true.

Outstanding Newfoundland and Labrador: 21 percent increase in tourism revenues over five years!

One outstanding example is Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. Their annual budget has been doubled during the last six years, but is still only CAD$13 million (about BDS$26 million). During their current series of TV ‘ads’, tourism spending has risen 21 per cent for the period 2005-2010, and non-resident visitors have increased by 7.3 per cent alone in 2010 to 518,500, despite any negative effects of the recession.

Adrian Loveridge: So much wrong with the Barbados Tourism Authority

Adrian takes his cane to a dead horse called the Barbados Tourism Authority…

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

First in the interests of establishing impartiality, I think its important that I point out that I have never been a member of a political party during my sixty two years.

I vote, whenever practical, because it is seemingly my only tiny contribution to maintaining anything close to a democratic system and consider it both a right and a civic obligation.

When the current administration swept into office just a month short of five year ago, while observing entirely from a tourism perspective, a number of stated objectives were contained within their manifesto.

Included in these were to ‘restructure and strengthen the Barbados Tourism Authority’. At the time I remember asking the then Chairman, what was the time frame for this re-organisation. His reply still resonates in my ears. ‘Six months’ he confidently responded.

We all realise now that it wasn’t to be.

And that has left me asking the same question over and over again: If a private sector entity, spent hundreds of million of Dollars, employed upwards of 150 full and part time employees, consultants, contracted the services of advertising agencies, public relations companies etc., and didn’t produce any real growth for nearly five years, would it be deemed a failed business model?

Canadian firefighter criticises lack of Barbados Tourism promotion in Ottawa, Canada

“Every Saturday the newspaper travel section comes out and there are trips everywhere except Barbados.”

Dear Barbados Free Press:

Thirty years ago I met my wife in Barbados, and the one promise I made was I would get her home every year if she moved to Canada. So you can imagine I am always watching the newspaper travel section about flights or packages to the island. Every Saturday the travel section comes out and there are trips everywhere except Barbados. What does your tourism authority do in Canada????

Ottawa is where we live and your embassy is should be ashamed of the lack of promotion of probably the best island in the Caribbean. When the average firefighter in Ottawa earns over 180,000 Barbados dollars a year, is this a market to be overlooked? The time is past for only name recognition to keep people coming. The Barbados Tourism Authority must be actively pursuing new tourists. That’s what the BTA are they paid for!

name withheld by BFP editor

BTA’s plan is too little, too late to impact the rest of the tourist high season

Price slashing a poisoned quick fix?

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

Under the banner headline ‘BTA working on tourism plan, says Elcock’ and carried in 4th November edition of the Sunday Sun, the chairman of that organisation was quoted as saying ‘that plans are in the works to boost tourism numbers for the remainder of the year’.

If the quotation is accurate, it begs the question: What on earth could you possibly do at this late stage to dramatically improve 2012 arrivals, even if ‘plans’ were already in place?

The article also mentioned that the Minister of Tourism and BTA Chairman was part of a delegation attending the WTM (World Travel Market) in London last week. The United Kingdom, despite the fall-off in visitor arrivals, is still hanging on as our single largest source market, but numbers are just part of the equation. You also have to evaluate exactly how that business is generated and it remains predominately tour operator driven.

Before moving to Barbados, I owned and ran a tour operator business in England for twelve years, so have some intimate knowledge of how they function there. Planning is done way in advance, for pretty obvious reasons. Even a small aircraft like a B737 can cost US$89 million and that’s before considering all the additional costs including maintenance, crewing, fuel, airport charges etc.  So it’s simply not feasible to have it sitting around on the tarmac.

The larger operators own or lease their own aircraft but the smaller ones buy blocks of seats on scheduled or charter airlines. Accommodation has to be contracted with a lead time sufficient enough to market the package, either through High Street travel agents or online.

So if a destination can have any meaningful impact on ensuring those committed seats and beds are filled, it has limited ways of achieving this.

Raising the profile of the destination can help, but if the more traditional ways are used (for instance by advertising in various media options) this can be incredibly expensive even if the national marketing agency has the funds available. Another way is to stimulate demand by pricing – or put another way, discounting the product offering.

As late as 26th April, the Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados was predicting growth in tourism for this year. Included in the three pillars that would make this happen, (and mentioned several times) were the developments at Port Ferdinand, Four Seasons and Merricks Resort. We now realise of course that two out of three of these projects are not going to make any meaningful contribution whatsover, at least for 2012.

After a ‘lacklustre’ summer, any possible recovery seems almost totally dependent on a profitable, but short, four month winter season. Even in normal circumstances it’s a huge gamble – but the situation is anything but ‘normal’ with many tourism businesses economically hanging on by their fingernails.

While several industry players have been outspoken, citing eroded margins caused by unbudgeted increases in operational costs, their cries have largely been ignored by the policymakers.

What this winter offers for many of these enterprises is the bare possibility of survival, so discounting cannot be the solution. Without wanting to sound too dramatic, if tourism enterprises are forced to take this path of price cutting, it could be the recipe for disaster.

The predicament is that the ‘planners’ have left it so late that there may be no practical alternative if a business wants to survive to fight another year.

Horror stories of the Barbados Tourism Authority

Why is it always so hard to get some action?

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

If you took a straw poll asking who is the most respected broadcasting source, I am sure that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) would be up there, probably at the top of the list. Therefore if a seasoned producer from that esteemed organisation, filmed and presented a professionally made short video, portraying Barbados from a very unsual perspective, wouldn’t it be of interest?

Apparently, not, because our national marketing organisation didn’t even bother to acknowledge receipt of this, and other videos submitted!

I cannot recall just how many times I have heard this from various people, over the years and it graphically reminds me of one of my own personal experiences. I am not going to indicate exactly the year it happened, as the then CEO has moved on, hopefully to other avenues where his skills can be better exploited.

Entirely on my own volition and expense, I  travelled down to Brazil for a week, flying from Bridgetown to Parimaribo (Surinam), Cayenne (French Guyana) and then Belem, with SLM Airways. I met with senior executives of the airline and METS, the long established travel organisation, who were both keen to grow a route between Belem and Barbados, which is only 1,258 miles, or a flying time of around two and a half hours. Then with their representatives in Brazil, major tour operators, travel agents and even the head of what is now Belemtur, the tourism marketing agency of Para State.

At that time, even with over 20 connecting city possibilities to other Brazilian cities, a resident population of around 7.5 million people within close proximity of Belem airport, it was still critical to view it as a holistic approach to what was deemed then, a new emerging market. We also carefully looked at the incredible agro-processing sector in North Brazil, because airfreight charges could play a vital role in the economics of the route.

I wrote a detailed report, based on my meetings, offering suggestions on how ‘we’ could possibly implement such a plan and hand-delivered it to the Harbour Road, BTA offices. I also discussed my findings with the Brazilian Ambassdor to Barbados at that time, who expressed enormous interest.

Weeks went by, with at no time receiving any acknowledgement of the evaluation , until one evening, while attending one of the many ‘cocktail’ parties. Also present was the BTA CEO/President, and I shall always remember his response, when asking if he had seen my detailed observations.

To this day, it frankly still shocks me. ‘Well we can’t respond to everything, you know’.

Even with a staff compliment of over 130 persons, I suppose he was right. But I wonder just how many other enthusiastic persons, with ideas and concepts they feel have merit, are just left disillusioned and their time has been wasted.

There appears to have been a notable increase in the number of visitors commenting on our tourism product and performance in the local press recently and through the various social media sites. If ‘we’ plan to stay in the tourism business, it is absolutely critical that we respond in a timely manner. Otherwise, even seasoned visitors may just get the impression that we do not truly value their business and move on to one of the very many other destinations on offer.

Shadow Tourism Minister Ronald Toppin: “Barbados Tourism Authority ‘running from bailiffs around the world.” !!!

Outrageous statement from Barbados Labour Party Member of Parliament

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

Sadly every five years or so, we have grown accustomed to, and sometimes forced into hearing some pretty outrageous utterings from those that either represent us in Parliament – or who aspire to.

A video recently posted on YouTube really grabbed my attention, features such a person, while addressing his constituents. Perhaps the phrase ‘political silly season’ explains this situation graphically.

I quote verbatim from shadow Minister of Tourism, Ronald Toppin: ‘The Barbados Tourism Authority owes $42 million’, ‘is in serious debt’ and is literally ‘running from bailiffs around the world’.

Perhaps from an ordinary citizen, these comments could simply be disregarded as pure speculation, but on this occasion, they were spoken by the Shadow Minister of Tourism. Despite the video being widely distributed, no statement in rebuttal, up until the time of submitting this column has been made by the current actual Minister of Tourism or a spokesperson for the BTA, so we are all left to speculate if these statements are factually true.

Mr. Toppin was rather vague on what exactly the quoted $42 million owing covered. Does this include the $30 million loan taken out to subsidise the disastrous chartering of the cruise ship, Carnival Destiny, for instance, which of course, took place under the previous administration?

Knowing the worldwide coverage of social media sites, the question that really has to be raised: are these seemingly ‘informed’ comments in the national interest? To remind readers that YouTube is the most popular video sharing site and the second largest search engine, only after Google.

Did this person consider the incalculable harm that could be inflicted on the reputation of the destination?

It would be almost impossible to function as an effective national marketing organisation without the support of advertising agencies, public relations companies and the various forms of paid media – Let alone the airlines who currently service Barbados, that Mr. Toppin also mentioned are supposedly owed monies. We have already lost substantial airlift and gateways including Philadelphia, Atlanta and more recently, Dallas/Fort Worth.

The video also appears to have official Barbados Labour Party approval as it was posted by BLPNews, which has a direct link to the opposition website.

Of course the slowness in the BTA settling its bills is nothing new. Many will tell you that it has been going on for years. What is surprising, is the amount quoted and why has it has been allowed, if proven, to have lingered on so long – Especially, when the current Chairman has a degree in accounting and spent a number of years with one of the world’s largest auditing firms. Surely, he is kept fully briefed on financial matters and realises the damaging knock-on effect this could have?

When for instance, the next tender goes out, either for renewing an existing account, or replacing the current advertising agency, I cannot imagine any reputable company pitching for the business, would not conduct fiscal due diligence to gauge a potential client’s track history of prompt settlement.

With so many critical issues already challenging our number one foreign currency earner, is it too much to hope, that the contributions made by our politicians, either in power or opposition, leading up to the election are constructive and enlightened.

Barbados Tourism Authority ‘winging it’ without proper research and knowledge

Domino’s Pizza respected their critics, learned and came out reinvigorated and reinvented. Barbados needs to do the same.

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

In many respects YouTube is a wonderful thing and used responsibly can be a great educational device and a powerful marketing tool. I recently watched a video entitled ‘Domino’s Pizza Turnaround’ –  the true story of how Domino listened to its harshest critics and made their best pizza ever. (YouTube video above)

At the time of writing this column, almost another million people had watched it and while the product isn’t directly related to our tourism offerings, it’s difficult not to draw parallels. Perhaps now is finally the time to sit down and better listen to our customers, our visitors, and ask them what we are doing right and conversely, what we are doing wrong.

“There comes a time when you know you’ve got to make a change.”

“You can either use negative comments to get you down, or you can use them to excite you and energize your process and make it better… We did the latter.”

… Opening statement from The Pizza Turnaround

From a very early working age, I was incredibly lucky to work with some visionary, inspirational and subsequently highly successful people. One thing, that never left the forefront of my mind is that if you expect to sell any commodity, product or service effectively, is that you had better know everything about. And could that be why, perhaps, we are not witnessing an increase in the number of visitors to our shores, when many other destinations are.

Years ago, when I participated in a number of overseas sales and promotional events, both consumer and trade travel to support the BTA’s efforts, I felt that I had an overwhelming obligation, obviously not just to know about our own little property, but as many other hotels, attractions and restaurants as well. I cannot think or more than four or five hotels on Barbados that I have not either personally visited and in several cases actually stayed in. Similarly, I have experienced our many dining options and activities.

“How many from the Barbados Tourism Authority have actually stayed in a package room at some of the hotels at the gap?”

Yet, if you look closely at our tourism policymakers, the agencies they represent, including the hundreds of staff at the Barbados Tourism Authority and Ministry of Tourism, how many can say the same? Start with the board of the BTA for instance. How can you possibily make informed decisions and define strategies, when you do not have an intimate knowledge of the product, warts and all?

It is not a criticism, but a simple basic common sense observation.

Recalling some of the larger travel shows, often on your feet, for hours at a time, of course, a huge spectrum of society is going to approach you, but at least you knew whatever the question, that you were capable of offering an informed answer. Matching the right product with the client’s need is absolutely critical, if you want people to return.

In an evermore competitive world, ‘winging it’ is no longer an acceptable way of doing business. And if you are not throughly au fait with your own product, how can you compare it with the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors?

Has the time finally come, to put all the politics aside and place the very best qualified people in place with proven ability, irrespective of any party allegiance, to the benefit of the entire country and its population. It would appear that so very much depends on ‘us’ having a profitable winter season ahead.

In the national interest can ‘we’ continue to, or afford to take further chances with this industry?

Barbados Tourism Authority Chairman Adrian Elcock: We’re trying to be like St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Elcock talks a good game, but what’s with the negative results in the latest tourist arrival stats?

by Passin Thru

“I think what we’ve been doing is trying to make Barbados a cool place to be…

The Grenadines is what tourism is to St. Vincent. It’s cool. You know you can go down to the cay, or whatever and have that little charming getaway. We’re trying to create that same aura here”

BTA Chairman Adrian Elcock starting at about 5 minutes and 45 seconds into the YouTube video CROP OVER 2012 – Adrian Elcock, Chairman, BTA – ZYNC TV

No kidding. That’s what BTA Chair Adrian Elcock says at about where we’re going with our tourism. Yes, he says much more than that and a lot of it is good and good concepts and ideas.

But what about the implementation? Where are the positive results?

We are in trouble.

Barbados tourist arrivals down 12% despite Crop-Over. July cruise ship arrivals down 37%

Barbados Tourism Authority responds to TripAdvisor commenter

Three days and 150 comments later…

A few days ago we told you about Mr. Frank James, who posted a comment on TripAdvisor.com about his poor experience vacationing at The Gap. Our story Barbados Tourism Authority, police need to read this TripAdvisor conversation about The Gap detailed Mr. James complaints and resulted in some other negative comments about the sad state of affairs at The Gap – an area that used to be known for its vibrant nightlife and as a friendly and safe venue.

It apparently took 3 days and 150+ comments, but the Barbados Tourism Authority replied to Mr. James. Alright, good… but why wasn’t the BTA all over this from the first day? There is no reason why they should not have seen Mr. James’ complaint on the first day. That is the standard I would expect from our national agency looking after the mainstay of our economy…

Good morning Mr. James,

Your letter has been passed on to me by Mr. David Rice, our President. Firstly please let me say how very sorry we are that you have had to experience such annoyance during what was supposed to have been a very peaceful and romantic vacation. We are none the less grateful that you have brought this matter to our attention and we assure you that we will be meeting with the Police Liaison Officer to address these matters. As you can imagine this is most embarrassing and annoying for us as a destination and will do all possible to have this very distressing practice curtailed. We shall get back to you with our results and sincerely hope that you will give us another opportunity to welcome you back to Barbados and to try in some way to make it up to you.

Regards

Gerald A. Cozier

Manager Corporate Affairs/Quality Assurance
Barbados Tourism Authority

TripAdvisor hits 75 million reviews: Barbados Tourism Authority thinks it can be ignored.

The largest, most popular travel website on earth is TripAdvisor.com. Founded in the dot-com boom 12 years ago, the website survived and thrived due to the emphasis on the opinions of ordinary folk who have no agenda except honest reviews of accommodations and services during their travels.

Oh sure, businesses and others attempt to skew the results, but TripAdvisor is wise to the common schemes designed to misuse the venue. And if TripAdvisor discovers that someone has an agenda to make or break a hotel or attraction, the website ruthlessly hunts down the offenders, kills their writing and makes sure that users can rely upon the integrity of the website.

That’s why TripAdvisor is the #1 travel website on the planet.

TripAdvisor just hit 75 million reviews and opinions… so the BTA did what?

The Barbados Tourism Authority does not have a dedicated program to monitor TripAdvisor and to address the negative and positive comments and reviews about Barbados. Such an omission is inexcusable.

But, hey… what do you want from the BTA having to operate with only a lousy $100 million dollar annual budget?

A simple, cost-effective idea to deliver more tourists to Barbados

Why didn’t the Barbados Tourism Authority do this already? Don’t even bother to ask…

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

From 7^th September until 14^th November, American Airlines lower their mileage requirement to allow return travel from any point they serve in the Continental United States, Canada or Mexico to Barbados for just 25,000 miles.

So whether you live in the north east corridor, midwest or pacific coast area, the miles required are the same irrespective of distance travelled. Geographically it opens up access to Barbados to millions of potential visitors that might normally find the normal published fare, financially inhibitive.

Take Seattle, Washington State, as an example. The lowest bookable fare online is US$832.40, but still only 25,000 miles through AAdvantage, plus a nominal US$56.50 in taxes and add-ons.

But some may say, you have to spend at least US$25,000 to obtain the minimum miles required. Not so, as many credit card issuers are giving very generous incentives for switching to their product.

Citibank is currently offering their Platinum Select AAdvantage Visa Signature credit card where you receive a bonus of 30,000 miles if you spend just US$1,000 in the first three months of membership. It doesn’t end there. You also get priority boarding, 25 per cent discount on certain in-flight purchases, a US$100 flight discount once a year, Double miles on eligible AA purchases, 10 per cent of your redeemed miles back and the annual fee waived for the first year.

Of course, certain conditions apply and unless the monthly balance is settled on time, in full, like any other similar card, interest will be payable.

So to summarise, just by selectively using this card to pay any one of number of bills totaling $1,000 or more, you have already created the means to reach Barbados and return home for $56.50.

With over 69 million members, AAdvantage can offer substantially more, in fact, than the entire adult population of the United Kingdom, which is still our largest single market.

How do we reach this potential?

The simplest way would be to smart partner with CitiBank and the airline and use their current methods of communicating with clientele. As an attention getter, a number of accommodation prizes would spark interest and help drive destination choice. The national marketing agency could also pre-purchase miles and lower the minimum requirement, making it  even more attractive for travellers. Even at consumer rates, 5,000 miles can be bought for around US$100.

Corporate bulk quantities can be negotiated at substantially discounted rates.

What a programme like this does at a stroke, is immediately take away, what many pundits argue, that because Barbados is further away, its more expensive to reach. And if a promotional campaign like this is rolled out in time, monitoring of its success or failure could easily be policed by incorporating a code like the unique flight booking record locator and the name of the final accommodation choice.

While the concerted regional battle goes on to address the injustices of the dreaded APD (Advanced Passenger Duty), whatever may be finally agreed, it is not going to make a meaningful  difference to visitor arrival numbers for the remainder of this summer.

So why don’t we concentrate on something that could drive additional business, or at least give it a try!

Victoria Rowell to replace pot-smoking Rihanna for Barbados Tourism Authority spokesperson? Victoria WHO?

“Rihanna knows she’s the BTA spokesperson, so what’s with the drugs in public?”

Dear Barbados Free Press,

Today we are treated in the news to dueling stories about the outgoing and incoming spokesgirls for the Barbados Tourism Authority.

Barbados Ambassador Rihanna is at it again, having been photographed in Barbados smoking an apparent ‘blunt’. Looks like a blunt to me. (For the unfamiliar, a ‘blunt’ is a hollowed-out cigarello filled with some choice weed of which we have plenty in B’town.) I know the girl was here for her grandmother’s funeral and I respect that, and I don’t think that smoking some herb will do any harm to a person.

But.

The girl is supposed to be the BTA spokesperson and we’re paying her who knows how much to represent the very best face for this island. She knows she’s being photographed. She knows she’s the BTA spokesperson, so what’s with the drugs in public? This latest photo follows similar photos elsewhere (Hawaii ?) and Rihanna’s Tweets about smoking grass. The ‘best by’ expiry date is long past for the girl as the BTA spokesperson, know what I mean? Time to find a replacement.

Meet Rihanna’s BTA replacement… WHO?

Truth be told I never lived under no rock for the past twenty years. I have a job. I have friends, I watch CBC and download torrents of first run Hollywood movies from Pirate’s Bay. I read the newspapers and kill a paperback a month while sitting on the toilet, know what I mean?

I never heard of no Victoria Rowell. I heard of the soap opera The Young and The Restless, but I never watched it. I never heard of the character ‘Drucilla Winters’ or Victoria Rowell, the actress who plays her. I know Rowell plays ‘Drucilla Winters’ because I read it in the Barbados Advocate. In the Nation they have a photo of Rowell with two other women and one man and they have to identify her by saying “second right“. Man, how famous is you when the photo has to say “second right”?

It looks like the BTA traded Rihanna for Victoria Rowell (WHO?) and Victoria was in the news touring Bim and saying nice things about a place she’s obviously never been before.

How much are we paying for all this? I just can’t take it anymore. The pain is too much!

Pass that blunt, RiRi. I need to breathe deep.

Junior Tomas, Crab Hill

Three years later, what has become of the restructuring at the Barbados Tourism Authority?

Bajan papers always report big talk and big promises: but never follow up…

Over three years ago Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy (photo above) announced a major restructuring of the Barbados Tourism Authority. It seemed a fine idea at the time: separate tourism marketing and product development companies.

Except: it never happened.

Time and time again we at Barbados Free Press have suggested to the island news media that if they want to improve their credibility they should only report on events that are completed. Of course, if they did that, they wouldn’t have any stories at all because half of what they print is promises and musing from politicians.

How about it, Barbados Advocate and Nation… can you go a week without printing mindless chatter, wishing and speculation from the political class?

From the March 18, 2009 edition of the Barbados Advocate (still online here):

Changes at BTA

3/18/2009

By Shawn Cumberbatch

AFTER earning a record $2.4 billion from tourism last year, Government is giving the sector an institutional shake-up in the midst of a 7.7 decline in long-stay visitor arrivals.

The Barbados Tourism Authority’s (BTA) board has been trimmed by seven and separate tourism marketing and product development companies are being created as part of a major restructuring exercise, Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy announced yesterday.

Loveridge: Our tourism workers must deliver world-class service standards

“I have questioned many times in the past, that it is totally unreasonable to expect our tourism workers to deliver a level of service that they have never been exposed to.”

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

I have just returned from spending ten days in the United States, eight of which were spent in the state of New Hampshire at a two property resort hotel in the White Mountains.

The standard of accommodation was very high. What stood out was the number of nationalities involved in service delivery. In fact management and staff were from thirteen different countries excluding the host. Fourteen of those employees came from the state of Moldova, and I would not blame you for a second if you are scratching your head and thinking ‘where on earth is that?’

Before you leap to GOOGLE, Moldova is a small land-locked state in Eastern Europe, formerly part of and now bordering Romania with the Ukraine. For part of its history, it was a Soviet satellite. Shortly it will be celebrating two decades of independence. Nearly a quarter of their entire population (4.5 million) earn a living abroad and one third of the country’s GDP consists of remittances.

Moldova is often described as the poorest country in Europe, but offers tremendous tourism potential in years to come, with over 140 cultural heritage sites, outstanding natural attractions, an important health and beauty niche, together with a thriving wine industry, which ranks it as the twenty-second largest producer in the world.

And this is why it is so critical that emerging nation’s have inspired and visionary leaders that fully comprehend the realities of modern day tourism: leaders who speedily draft and implement a medium to long term Master Plans that all the players can follow and use as a benchmark for achieving excellence.

Long before substantive overseas investors or locals build world-class hotels, the Government of Moldova is ensuring that the workforce receives all the necessary training to ensure their nationals meet the service standards expected in a global marketplace.