BRIDGETOWN, Barbados--Grenada is making a deliberate attempt to lure more Barbadian visitors to its shores.
In fact, a team from the Spice Isle is in Barbados this week, in hopes of boosting visitor arrivals from Bridgetown.
Speaking at a media conference Tuesday morning at the Sandals Barbados resort, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) Rudy Grant said officials from Grenada and its sister islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique would be meeting with travel agents as part of the “This is The Life” promotion.
Grant, a Barbadian, said the move was the first step in cementing relations between the two destinations. He pointed out that while the GTA had embarked on a major regional promotional drive, starting with Trinidad about two years ago, it had done very little in Barbados over the years to “stimulate the growth of that important source market.”
However, Grant acknowledged that Barbados currently accounts for about 13 per cent of Grenada’s total visitor arrivals from the Caribbean.
“We are in Barbados because Barbados is an important source market,” said the former parliamentary secretary in Barbados’ Ministry of Tourism and International Transport.
He also pointed out that the Caribbean is Grenada’s third largest source market for tourists after the UK and the US.
“We thought it very important to come here this week and to meet with all of the travel agents in Barbados to tell them about Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique and to encourage more Barbadians to visit the tri-island state,” he said.
Also addressing the news conference, GTA’s Marketing Manager Francine Stewart spoke of the range of cultural and other activities that Grenada has on offer.
“We think and we know that when you come over we can give you a different experience from what you are used to,” Stewart said in encouraging Barbadians to visit. (Adapted from Barbados TODAY) ~ Caribbean360 ~
