BARBADOS LAUNCHES ‘SWEETEST MEMORIES’ TOURISM CAMPAIGN
Summer is heating up in Barbados with a New Tourism Campaign, Seaside Sales, and the Crop Over Festival
Bridgetown, Barbados (JUNE 2022) Visitors to Barbados are in for a special treat, with the newly launched giant postcards set up island-wide to capture and record the sweetest Barbados holiday memories. Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) unveiled five life-sized postcards at significant, picturesque hot spots across Barbados including Holetown; Bathsheba; Golden Square Park in Bridgetown; the Sir Richard Haynes Boardwalk on the south coast; and the Grantley Adams International Airport. “The sweetest memories are made in Barbados, and we want to know yours.” That was the statement made by the Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Sen. The Hon. Lisa Cummins as tourism officials, parliamentary representatives, social media influencers, and media, traveled across the island to unveil each of the postcards. “We are proud of this unique concept to engage with our visitors and add a new experience to their Barbados holiday.”
“The locations selected each represent stories of our rich history and heritage, and shared memories held by Barbadians. From Holetown, which was the site of the first settlers in 1625 and is celebrated each February with our Holetown Festival, to our capital city of Bridgetown, which tells the history of much of Barbados’ development over the past 300 years. We are inviting visitors to be a part of those spaces and engage with our history, our story, and our people,” she added. The rollout of the postcards comes in support of the ongoing Summer Savings campaign, where savings of up to 55 percent off accommodations, restaurants, attractions, and more are available for both visitors and locals at www.barbadossummersavings.com. The program is currently being advertised to travelers in the destination’s top source markets including the U.K., the Caribbean, Europe, the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. Soca music, costumed dancers, and more brought the party atmosphere to each postcard stop and gave travelers watching live online on Barbados’ social media pages, a taste of what’s to come in Barbados this summer.
Summer is heating up in Barbados
Cummins continued, “Barbados is the place to be this summer and we are creating activity that promotes visitation to the island to experience the wealth of activity that we have to offer. Whether you’re a solo traveler, multigenerational family, or even a group of friends seeking an unforgettable holiday, there’s so much to enjoy in Barbados.” Barbados also recently announced the return of its annual Crop Over Festival after a 2-year hiatus due to COVID-19. The annual summer festival runs from June through August and is a celebration of the island’s culture, heritage, food, and arts. The season of festivities culminates in the Grand Kadooment Day parade on August 1, 2022, where celebrities like Sir Lewis Hamilton, and Barbados’ very own Rihanna are often spotted enjoying themselves in full costume. “With the return of the Crop Over Festival and numerous activities reopening on the island, we are ensuring that visitors can come, enjoy an exciting summer with great savings across our product offering, and have an opportunity to take part in one of our most celebrated festivals,” Cummins said.
New restaurants on the menu for visitors
Visitors heading to Barbados this summer will also be happy to see the numerous new restaurants launched over the past two years including farm-to-table concepts such as Local and Co., and Peg Farm; beachfront experiences like Sea Shed, Outpost 1.11, and Deia Beach; as well as fine-dining options including Baia and QP Bistro featuring Michelin-star chef Antonio Mellino. Cummins added that “While other countries were contracting during COVID, Barbados found itself in a unique position where we celebrated the launch of several diverse eateries across the island. Anyone who hasn’t been to Barbados in the past two years has a lot of food to catch up on. Most importantly, we see this development of our restaurant landscape as a testament to why we are the culinary capital of the Caribbean.
About Barbados
The island of Barbados offers a unique Caribbean experience steeped in rich history and colorful culture and rooted in remarkable landscapes. Barbados is the home of two of the three remaining Jacobean Mansions left in the Western hemisphere, as well as fully functional rum distilleries. In fact, this island is known as the birthplace of rum, commercially producing, and bottling the spirit since the 1700s. Each year, Barbados hosts several world-class events including the annual Barbados Food and Rum Festival; the annual Barbados Reggae Festival; and the annual Crop Over Festival, where celebrities such as Lewis Hamilton and its very own Rihanna are often spotted. Accommodations are wide and varied, ranging from picturesque plantation houses and villas to quaint bed and breakfast gems; prestigious international chains; and award-winning five-diamond resorts. In 2018, Barbados’ accommodation sector captured 13 awards in the Top Hotels Overall, Luxury, All-Inclusive, Small, Best Service, Bargain, and Romance categories of the ‘Traveler’s Choice Awards’. And getting to paradise is a breeze: the Grantley Adams International Airport offers plenty of non-stop and direct services from a growing number of U.S., U.K., Canadian, Caribbean, European, and Latin American gateways, making Barbados the true gateway to the Eastern Caribbean. Visit Barbados and experience it because for two years in a row it won the prestigious Star Winter Sun Destination Award at the ‘Travel Bulletin Star Awards’ in 2017 and 2018. For more information on travel to Barbados, visit www.visitbarbados.org, follow on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/VisitBarbados, and via Twitter @Barbados.
