Barbados Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Kerrie D. Symmonds, has said that Northern Ireland is a “priority” market for tourism to the island.
The most easterly island in the Caribbean, Barbados welcomes on average, around half a million tourists each year. From January – September 2019 the ‘Jewel of the Caribbean’ welcomed 522,583 visitors, accounting for an increase of 21,200 on the previous year.
When asked about the importance of attracting visitors from Northern Ireland, the Minister said: “Northern Ireland has always been a priority for me and Cheryl, our Director in England and we are working very hard on attracting visitors from Northern Ireland and indeed Ireland as a whole.
“In a recent survey we found that there is a lot of awareness now of Barbados as a holiday destination that needs to be nurtured. We are trying to make sure that we now expand Barbados’ tentacles across the holiday market.
“Dublin Airport is around 90 miles from Belfast and has the fantastic US Pre-Clearance facility where you can go through customs and security before boarding your flight. Although there is no direct flight to Barbados from Dublin, there are great connections from Dublin to Barbados via New York, Miami or Chicago, all of which have a direct flight out of Dublin.
“Alternatively you can come through the UK via Manchester or Gatwick.”
The Minister continued: “The holiday market in Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland is something we think is practical and we are going after it. With this regards, the spirit of partnership is key and we certainly cannot do it alone.
“It is absolutely imperative that we are all onboard and understand the challenges.
“Barbados has always been resilient, we deal with hurricanes etc, but part of our message is that we do need the assistance from the international community in building sustainable tourism markets.”
