Barbados will invest $11 million on a new tourism product – Barbados Island Inclusive – that officials estimate will result in visitor spending of almost three times that amount.
In unveiling the package yesterday, Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy said it would offer visitors an air and accommodation package from April 29 that earns them free dining of up to $600 per person at local eating houses as an inducement to greater spending in Barbados.
“While those previous promotions delivered savings at the point of purchase to the customer, they did not promote or commit this proposed level of spending in Barbados. That money stayed in the distribution channels outside of Barbados,” he said.
He told journalists in the Barbados Tourism Authority’s (BTA) boardroom at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre that the intention was to spread returns of this investment to eating houses beyond the BTA and Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s definition of a restaurant. (GA)