Grenada Board woos Barbados
Grenada is seeking to boost its tourism business from Barbados through a one-day exposition mounted yesterday by the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) at the Sands Hotel in Worthing, Christ Church.
Four Grenada hotels, three airlines (Caribbean Airlines, Inter-Caribbean Airways and Virgin Atlantic), one tour operator, chef Kennedy Roberts and a representative of Vibes Mas, participants in Grenada’s world-famous
Spice Mas, put their goods and services on display at the Grenada/ Barbados Regional Promotional Launch.
Chief executive officer of the GTA, Petra Roach, said since Barbados was the second-largest source market in the Caribbean for visitors to Grenada, only surpassed by Trinidad and Tobago, it was recognised that “there is opportunity here”.
Welcoming local tour operators and other visitors to the Expo, she said: “We know that Barbadians are very discerning, they want to venture out, learn more about culture and nature and we have increased (airline) capacity out of here.”
Roach pointed out that Inter-Caribbean Airways had increased their flights between Barbados and Grenada to 11 times weekly, Caribbean Airlines had moved to daily service, while Virgin Atlantic had won the freedom rights to fly between Barbados and Grenada.
She said Grenada “was offering things that Barbadians don’t get to experience on a daily basis.”
She touted the idea of intra-Caribbean travel, saying: “We believe that we are part of a family. I think for too long people have been looking to go on holiday to North America or to Europe without recognising that we have such a beautiful paradise of islands called the Caribbean and that we have to be collaborative and . . . go and enjoy each other’s cultures.” (GC)
From left, Caribbean Airlines sales representative Veena Rattan-King discussing the airline’s display with members of the Grenada Tourism Authority – marketing executive and project manager Samantha Thomas, chief executive officer Petra Roach and head of marketing and sales
department Nikoyan Roberts. (Picture by Reco Moore.)
