BARBADOS’ STRUGGLING TOURISM SECTOR is set to get a boost following the launch of a new shuttle service to bring tourists to The City to shop.
Following two months of planning, some Bridgetown retailers which offer duty-free shopping, in collaboration with hotel owners launched the Bridgetown Express, a shuttle service that will collect tourists from South and West Coast hotels and take them, for a fee, to The City, where they will have the opportunity to do duty-free shopping. The service, which is expected to begin on October 1, 2013, will be operated six days per week.
Speaking during the launch at the Waterfront Café, Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy welcomed the initiative, saying it should “significantly enhance our tourism product offerings”.
“This new initiative has great potential for stimulating economic activity within the designated World Heritage property. So we have something to be excited about,” he said.
“Research indicates that tourists have, for some time, become a very important segment of the market in shopping and in order to continue to diversify our product offerings it is necessary to create the appropriate marketing mix which targets and accommodates this particular segment. The Bridgetown Express responds to that,” he said, adding that he wanted to see the involvement of “attractions, restaurants and art and craft persons”.
Also welcoming the idea, saying it should increase economic activities and tourists spend, were president of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Lalu Vaswani, and president of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Patricia Alfonso-Dass. During the excursion the visitors will be introduced to places of interest, particularly the UNESCO World Heritage site Bridgetown And Its Historic Garrison. (MM)