by Joe Pike
Last updated: 11:15 PM ET, Thu June 6, 2019
Kerrie D. Symmonds, Barbados' minister of tourism and international transport, told TravelPulse on Thursday that the island is looking into several initiatives to make disabled tourists more comfortable on vacations, while also improving the quality of life for its disabled locals.
As part of Caribbean Week New York, which was organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), we sat down with Symmonds to learn more about what Barbados is doing to tap into the accessible travel market and help their own people at the same time.
"It's a tremendous benefit to cater to someone with a disability," said Symmonds, who took over as minister in May of last year. "We need to keep them comfortable so we can capture this market. But first, we need to cater to the full menu of requirements for this market."
Symmonds said that mostly has to do with infrastructure improvements, but also told TravelPulse a requirement is being considered for hotels to have at least a certain percentage of its room inventory made equipped with the disabled traveler in mind. He also said certain streets on the island will be revamped so locals with wheelchairs can use them.
"This is something that will benefit our visitors with disabilities, but also our own people," he said. "We have located streets in such rough condition that they are off limits to wheelchairs. So, this is something we are doing to capitalize on the accessible travel market but to also make lives easier for our disabled locals."
And although Symmonds couldn't share a projected cost for these initiatives, or other specifics in general, he did say there will be announcements made soon.
For now, here's what else the tourism minister of Barbados, along with Petra Roach, director of the U.S. for the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), had to tell TravelPulse about the hottest news and trends out of the island.
Another Broken Record
From 2015 to 2019, Barbados has had growth in the American air arrival market, with a high point coming in 2017 when the destination broke the 1987 record for the largest number of U.S. visitors.
Barbados broke this record again in 2018 and is on pace to do it again in 2019.
Symmonds told TravelPulse that Barbados received about 33 percent of its 681,197 stay-over visitors from the U.K.; roughly 30 percent, or 204,830 visitors, from the U.S; and the remainder mainly coming from Canada, Europe and other Caribbean islands.
"It's always great to break the 200,000 air passenger barrier and make history," said Symmonds. "It says a lot about our approach to the American market, but it also helps us globally that we don't have only one source market."
And the momentum doesn't appear to be dying down anytime soon.
Last year, American Airlines launched new flights to Barbados from both Miami and Charlotte. Roach said the decision to add direct, daily service from Charlotte was a "no-brainer" due to Charlotte Douglas International Airport's (CLT) nearly 700 daily departures.
In fact, Roach said CLT is the second biggest departure airport across American Airlines' network, next to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Previously, American offered a weekly, seasonal flight from Charlotte to Barbados.
And this year, JetBlue Airways announced it would be flying to Barbados year-round from Newark Liberty International Airport. The carrier previously offered seasonal service from New Jersey to Barbados.
But Symmonds also said cruises deserve major credit for the air arrivals.
"We are getting a lot more interest from cruises passengers who then come back to Barbados and stay longer on the island," he said.
A-List Influence
Grammy Award-winning singer Rihanna, who was born in Barbados, was appointed "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary" in 2018, continuing to provide significant exposure for the island in the U.S. and globally. A tourism ambassador for BTMI since 2008, Rihanna stepped into her new role with expanded responsibilities as an official diplomat for her home country.
But this hasn't been Barbados' only celebrity endorsement.
Other celebrities whose ancestry is tied to the island include actress Gwyneth Paltrow, whose great grandmother was Barbadian, and actors, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and LL Cool J, who both have Barbadian grandfathers.
But even famous people with no heritage in Barbados have become frequent visitors, such as reality TV star Simon Cowell, who has thrown New Year's parties at the famous Sandy Lane hotel. Sandy Lane is also where famous golfer Tiger Woods was married back in 2004. Also, rapper Jay-Z proposed to Beyoncé on the resort's beach.
"It is important to us because people always want to go where the celebrities go," said Symmonds. "And you might even see one or two when you're here. And they might even chat with you too. People are just very laid back when they are in Barbados."
Keeping it Fresh for Millennials
Symmonds also attributes Barbados' recent success to a concentrated effort to attract the millennial market. With resorts, like Waves Hotel & Spa by Elegant Hotel, and other modern chic resorts already attracting scores of millennials, Symmonds said the pressure is on the island to keep that momentum strong by keeping its offerings fresh.
"It is important to us to refresh our menu of attractions on the island for this market," he said. "We also need to keep improving our health and wellness offerings, culinary offerings for foodies and our festival product."
Symmonds also said more attention will be placed on promoting some of Barbados' most unique sports tourism offerings, such as Bushy Park Barbados, a car racing track, and the Garrison Savannah Racetrack, a horseracing track that Symmonds said may be introducing night racing by the end of the year.
It also doesn't hurt that Barbados dominated the social media pages of some of the top millennial agents from December 12 - 16, as the island welcomed the first-ever Millennial Travel Forum.
travAlliancemedia's inaugural event saw 15 millennial travel experts tour the island and chronicle the forum on Instagram and other social media platforms with the goal of using "likes" and "shares" to generate business to Barbados.
Throughout the four-day affair, the advisors stayed at The House by Elegant Hotels, Treasure Beach by Elegant Hotels and the Waves Hotel & Spa by Elegant Hotel.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
