Andrea Franklin has been announced as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI).
Her appointment was confirmed by Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding-Edghill during a press conference at the headquarters in Warrens, St Michael. Franklin signed on the dotted line of her three-year contract on January 4 and will begin on April 1. Her contract runs from April 1 2024 to March 31, 2027.
Speaking about the appointment, Gooding Edghill said “these appointments are significant steps in the right direction for the BTMI and Barbados’ tourism as a whole. I look forward to working with Ms. Franklin and continuing to work with Ms. Carter on numerous upcoming strategies and new business endeavours to increase and enhance our tourism business. I wish Ms. Franklin every success in leading the BTMI team both locally and in the international markets.”
When asked about the decision to appoint a Barbadian in the role, given her predecessor was Dr. Jens Thraenhart, a German, the Minister said “the fact that we have been able to find an accomplished professional in Barbados speaks volumes of the human capital and the resources that we have on the island. It is always a good thing when you can find individuals who are capable of leading an organisation on the island and I would like to thank the Chairman and the recruitment committee for their endeavour during this process.”
The sub-committee which comprised of Ms. Gayle Talma, Deputy Chairman, BTMI, Directors Mrs. Jo-Anne Roett, Mr. Terry Hanton and Mr. Ryan Forde found Andrea Franklin was the most suitable candidate after undergoing the interviewing process.
Franklin holds an MBA from the University of Leicester, a Master’s degree in Project Management and Evaluation, and a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management from the University of the West Indies. She is qualified in Tourism and Project Management and has experience in areas within tourism having worked with an airline, a hotel, villa rentals and attractions. She has played a significant role in transitioning a State-Owned enterprise into a successful private-public partnership arrangement.
Her role at the BTMI is as follows:
- Develop the business planning process for Barbados to deliver sustainable economic growth and effectively address the government’s policy objectives through tourism.
- Developing the business planning process for Barbados to deliver sustainable economic growth and effectively addressing government’s policy objectives through tourism.
- Advising the government on tourism-related issues as required and defining strategies, priorities and objectives to enable it to deliver its mandate from Government.
- Driving the development and implementation of sustainable strategies, to increase the value of tourism for Barbados.
- Providing leadership to Barbados’ tourism industry, collaborating with public and private sector bodies ensuring sound financial management and governance across the sector.
- Leading Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. to achieve its corporate objectives by driving a culture that is results oriented, responsible and innovative.
- Developing and implementing strategies to generate new revenue streams, partnerships and commercial opportunities for the organisation.
- Overseeing the development of customer relationship programs to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty and personally cultivating relationships with leading customers.
She will be supported by Cheryl Carter in the newly created role of Chief Operations Officer (COO) to ensure proper succession planning and streamlining of the BTMI’s operations. Carter will also join the BTMI on April 1.
