Written by Brian Major
Last updated: Thursday, May 2, 2024 at 5:10 PM ET
Barbados tourism and government officials are riding a wave of positive implementation trends and initiatives to support cruise tourism in order to achieve unprecedented success in the sector in 2024.
The number of cruise passenger arrivals in Barbados in 2024 is expected to exceed last year’s total. Bridgetown’s main port is expected to receive 826,338 passenger arrivals on 338 port calls this year. In 2023, the port received his 373 calls and transported 661,635 passengers.
This year, Barbados will be home to large modern ships operated by Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, and Seabourn luxury ships. A wide variety of cruise category ships, including passenger ships, call at the port. These include ships from luxury adventure cruise lines Scenic Cruises, SeaDream Cruises, and Windstar Cruises, as well as premium class ships from Holland America Line and Princess Cruises.
During the early stages of the pandemic, Barbadian authorities welcomed cruise ships while other Caribbean ports quickly banned cruise activities off the coast of Barbados. Under the direction of Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, island authorities played a key role in helping cruise lines repatriate crew members and normalize itineraries that were subsequently disrupted by the outbreak. .
Barbados’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Edgehill-Gooding, said: “The government has done what we think is necessary from a humanitarian perspective.” “While other ports in the region were closed, we decided to make our decision because it was the right thing to do. “We were also able to show the world that we support good values,” he said.
Since then, cruise lines have “contacted us numerous times to thank us,” Edgehill-Gooding said. “Every time we meet, they remind us that this was one of the ports where thousands of workers could be repatriated through the airport.”
After that period, “we were expecting more business to come to us, and we’re seeing that in terms of record numbers.” [cruise] This is the number of passengers we’ve seen this year,” Edgehill-Gooding said. “This should be a very rewarding year for us.”
Access to the island
Barbados is currently working on initiatives to build up its cruise ship business, said Andrea Franklin, CEO of Barbados Tourism and Marketing Incorporated (BTMI).
“We try to make the island experience as complete as possible. Sure, we have a traditional beach scene, but if a guest comes and just spends the day or night, we “We want to make sure people see the traditional charm of ,” she said.
“There’s an opportunity for them to converse and meet some people within that culture,” Franklin added. “So we’re doing our best to build on that as we go along.”
Mr Franklin cited Harrison’s Cave, Barbados’ signature tourist attraction, as an example of the island’s new and enhanced experiences.
The Harrison’s Cave complex was redeveloped after Chukka Caribbean Adventures took over operations of Barbados’ historic tourist attraction. (Photo provided by Brian Major)
Caribbean tour company Chukka Caribbean Adventures recently took over operations of the historic natural cave, adding adventure-themed exploration options for cavers and new natural and cultural elements such as ziplines and rope courses. Added.
“It’s a total experience where we built zip lines and nature trails,” Franklin said. “We’ve partnered with Mt Gay and we have rum tastings, so if you can’t get around the island in one day, you can still experience part of the rum culture here,” she said.
“What we can offer is [cruise travelers] It means you can find out what the whole Barbados product is like. ”
Franklin said BTMI is trying to make the most of their time on the island by convincing cruise travelers to return as land travelers.
“If you give [visitors] Once you understand the flavors of the islands they want to cruise to, you can think about how to market to them to get them to come back to your destination. This is important to us. ” she said. “was [also] We look at their spending on the island to make sure we get the most bang for our buck. ”
“We believe Cruise will continue to be a win-win for us,” Edgehill Gooding said. “Cruises are critical to the sustainability of local workers. We are working with taxi operators to improve their marketing efforts so they can create more business products that are sold to individuals. .
“We are also working with attractions to see how they can best improve their performance. [visitor] I’ve got experience,” Edgill-Gooding said. “Plus, we also get feedback from cruise lines about what is trending among their guests.”
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to our daily TravelPulse newsletter.
