Last May 31st we told you After 10 years and 9 months of inaction Barbados Tourism Authority pays for a Portuguese language website… but we don’t own it!
It must have been embarrassing to the BTA when a nothing little blog like Barbados Free Press pointed out the obvious: if we the people are paying for a website we should at least own the domain name! The BTA paid who knows how much to create VisiteBarbados.com, but the domain name was registered to Gisele Abrahao of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Well, it looks like the BTA got that little problem solved after we published our article and the domain name has now been transferred to the Barbados Tourism Authority.
Hmmmmm… I wonder if the BTA even signed a contract with the web developer that stipulated who owns what? And who has ultimate authority with the website host in Brazil – the developer or the BTA? It’s called “Business 101” but when you’re a government employee and the wallet is never empty, I guess you don’t think about those little details like you would if you owned your own business and it was your money you were spending.
Hey… let’s hope the BTA remembers their embarrassing little lesson when they get that Chinese-language website up.
May 31, 2010: Ownership of VisiteBarbados.com domain
Registration Service Provided By: HPHOST!
Contact: +011.40639508
Domain Name: VISITEBARBADOS.COM
Registrant:
Gisele Abrahao
Gisele Abrahao (gisele.abrahao@gmail.com)
Al Fernao Cardim , 119
Sao Paulo
São Paulo,01403-020
BR
Tel. +055.1196273160
Creation Date: 31-Mar-2010
Expiration Date: 31-Mar-2011
Domain servers in listed order:
ns2.hphost.com.br
ns1.hphost.com.br
August 2, 2010: Ownership of VisiteBarbados.com domain
Registration Service Provided By: HPHOST!
Contact: +011.40639508
Domain Name: VISITEBARBADOS.COM
Registrant:
Barbados Tourism Authority
Barbados Tourism Authority ()
Harbour Road, Bridgetown
Barbados
Not Applicable,BB11000
BB
Tel. +246.4264080
Creation Date: 31-Mar-2010
Expiration Date: 31-Mar-2011
Domain servers in listed order:
ns2.hphost.com.br
ns1.hphost.com.br
Barbados Free Press 
Are you certain?
Domain Name: VISITEBARBADOS.COM
Registrant:
Barbados Tourism Authority
Barbados Tourism Authority (gisele@visitebarbados.com)
Harbour Road, Bridgetown
Barbados
Not Applicable,BB11000
BB
Tel. +246.4264080
Creation Date: 31-Mar-2010
Expiration Date: 31-Mar-2011
Domain servers in listed order:
ns2.hphost.com.br
ns1.hphost.com.br
Administrative Contact:
Barbados Tourism Authority
Barbados Tourism Authority (gisele@visitebarbados.com)
Harbour Road, Bridgetown
Barbados
Not Applicable,BB11000
BB
Tel. +246.4264080
Technical Contact:
Barbados Tourism Authority
Barbados Tourism Authority (gisele@visitebarbados.com)
Harbour Road, Bridgetown
Barbados
Not Applicable,BB11000
BB
Tel. +246.4264080
Billing Contact:
Barbados Tourism Authority
Barbados Tourism Authority (gisele@visitebarbados.com)
Harbour Road, Bridgetown
Barbados
Not Applicable,BB11000
BB
Tel. +246.4264080
Do you who was Richard Williams at the BTA? So think about what I just ask in the post before. I don`t know and I am just asking. Until I get a definitive answer I will have my reservations.
Registrant:
Williams, Richard
ATTN VISITBARBADOS.COM
care of Network Solutions
PO Box 459
Drums, PA. US 18222
Domain Name: VISITBARBADOS.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
Williams, Richard yj8z65fe2rs@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
ATTN VISITBARBADOS.COM
care of Network Solutions
PO Box 459
Drums, PA 18222
US
570-708-8780
Record expires on 06-Jan-2013.
Record created on 06-Jan-2005.
Database last updated on 3-Aug-2010 12:27:35 EDT.
Hi Kammie
Certain of what?
The domain name was in the name of Gisele Abrahao of Sao Paulo, Brazil when first registered in March of 2010 and when we did our story in May, 2010. It has since been changed to be registered to the BTA in Barbados. Gisele’s email is still on the website registration but the name itself appears to now be owned by the BTA.
I ask again do you who was Richard Williams at the BTA? Is it a coincidence he owns http://www.visitbarbados.com? I don`t know and I am just asking. Until I get a definitive answer I will have my reservations.
Aren’t these TWO completely different sites that are being commented on?
Kammie
I think that domain name registered by Williams was done before the BTA current website also the BHTA/Miller Publishing has a publication Visit Barbados which was established well before the BTA website.
Also the Brazil website was registered by the BTA GSA, I would expect facilitating the speedy establishement of the site now registered to the BTA… sometimes we read things into actions which may or may not be there.
Was not Richard Williams a Vice President of the BTA in North America in 2005 when this website was brought? Who now owns this website?
Why is this news-worthy? I would have assumed that they should, by rights own any domain related directly to Barbados Tourism and the Government as it IS our business.
My question is this: “What will they do with it?”
Wasn’t it said that only a mad-man repeats the same actions expecting different results every-time?
I just see more money flushed down the tubes with this failing tourism product.
Thank you for the article and thank everyone for submitting their comments because it provided additional clarification for me. This information has been extremely helpful me
Thanks
Md.Alamin Khan
This thread has just come to my attention.
I want to clarify that I do own http://www.visitbarbados.com and have done so since way back in the early nineties when I was at Sandy Lane and long before the BTA set up VisitBarbados. In fact that name was originally used by the Hotel Association for a magazine published by the organisation. I separately purchased the domain on my own and quite legitimately. I continue to own it at this time. On one occasion I even offered it to the BTA and they declined as they decided that their dot org name was preferable and so continued to use that in promoting Barbados.
I guess it just goes to show how uninformed some tourism commentators are from their comments above….