OLIVER JORDAN President and CEO of the Barbados Tourism Authority

Q: What are the strengths and competitive advantages of the tourism sector here in Barbados?
A: One of the strengths is the fact that Barbados is seen as a world class destination, one of the premier destinations in the region. The demographics of our visitors stand to match that, and the fact that we tend to attract higher yielding visitors than other destinations. 40% of our business is out of the UK market because of the traditional links between Barbados and the UK, and we have been able to build on that over the years. So, I think one of the main strengths is that we a pretty upscale market, obviously we have had challenges in the last two years, given the issues for September 11th, but I think one of our strengths is that we have been able to rebound from that and as you said the growth in our visitors has been just under 7%.
We here in Barbados represent a somewhat more expensive destination, and because of that we position ourselves at the higher end of the market.

Q: After a strong 2003, What are the forecasts for the sector over the short to medium term?
A: The forecast for 2004 is of 5% growth. I think the last two months of the last year were very strong, and this is what pushed it up 6.6%. So, we are probably expecting more, however we cautiously say we will have a 5% growth this year.

Q: In your opinion, how will the next five years go?
A: The next five years, I think will be pretty good, going up to 2007, year where we will host the Cricket World Cup. Over the next few years you will see significant upgrading in the accommodation plant in Barbados, both towards 2007 and maintaining our competitive advantage. So I think we will have a growth of at least of 5%.

Q: Is Barbados unique in the region, or are there other competitive countries in the region?
A: There are other countries with different types of advantages. Trinidad for instance, they obviously have the energy; they are not so big as Barbados in tourism. Jamaica, is probably a closer example to Barbados with a fairly strong tourism industry, but again the Jamaica's tourism industry tends to focus more to the US market, which represents 70% of their business, whereas we tend to focus in other directions, with a 40% out of the UK.

Q: What do you think the sector needs?
A: The biggest thing is more investment. We probably don't have enough room stock at this point to match a future growth needs. I know the government is taking a very active role in ensuring we attract enough investment to this sector.

Q: I read an article on the local newspaper where the writer was complaining that there the marketing budget for Barbados was not enough. How do comment on this?
A: Well, people complain there is never enough. If you look at the investment that the government has made in this industry in the last two, three years has been quite significant. The challenge for us is to deploy that capital in the way we get the greatest return. We can always all do with more money, but there are other sectors in the economy that need to balance with the money the government is funding with. We have been fairly blessed in terms of support from the government, so I am not as concerned about that as some other people. In terms of bureaucracy, most of our business is conducted outside of Barbados so it does not really represent an issue for us. As our job is to promote Barbados overseas, 80% of our budget is spent outside of Barbados.

Q: Can you describe to the USA Today readers the aims of the BTA and the methods you employ to achieve those?
A: The primary aim of the BTA is to promote Barbados as a tourist destination in all of our major source markets. Building on that, what we have had to do in the last few years is to really look at some of the issues that we faced. Even before September 11th, there were some structural issues in the industry that were affecting us as a loss in the key markets. So our focus over the last two or three years has been threefold: one, we have gone after additional air services into Barbados and we have been pretty successful, we have attracted a number of new carriers from the U.S. market, US Airways, Continental and we are in discussions with a number of other airlines from the U.S. to bring additional services to Barbados. With been able to get additional services out of the UK, Canada and out of continental Europe. And then, with the additional funding we have been able to do stronger marketing programs to support the airlifts, as we need to ensure that the planes come and that are full.
And we have changed in the last two or three years, in terms of restructuring in order to be more flexible and have less bureaucracy: in the tourism business is very competitive and you need to make decision quickly.

Q: What are going to be the main points on your agenda for 2004?
A: 2004 is really going to be about building on the successes of last year. We are looking at a number of new services out of Portugal and couple of new services out of the U.S. and British Midland has announced a new service out of Manchester to Barbados. So we are going to build those and we are going to look at some of the markets where we haven't been successful and assess if we have to redirect those resources to other new areas like South America. As I said, its really just building on the successes of last year to sustain the 5% growth.

Q: What is the customer profile you are looking for?
A: Because we are a more expensive destination we need to position ourselves as a higher class destination. There is also a range of properties in Barbados that accommodate for almost any kind of budget. Take the example of Paris. People see Paris as a place of romance but you can go from 20 euros a night to up to 2000 euros a night. Positioning the destination as one thing doesn't mean you only want certain types of customers. Generally we have to attract more customers at the higher end than the lower end. I think that naturally, we will attract wealthier visitors, because of the higher costs to reach the island. Take for example visitors coming over from New Jersey with the Continental service. Because Barbados is so far south the cost is more expensive than flying to Jamaica so naturally you're going to attract consumers who can afford it.

Q: With regard to your marketing strategy and branding, what has it been and what will it be?
A: We are actually in the middle of re-branding. Our new tag line will be: "Barbados. The last authentic Caribbean experience." The previous tag line was: "Barbados, just beyond your imagination."
It has just recently been approved and its going to be launched now. In the U.S. it will be launched with a new television campaign.

Q: Corporate travel represents a large portion of world travel, and it is very sought after by many countries as revenues are significantly higher than those of leisure travel. How important is this segment in Barbados, and what are your personal views regarding this market?
A: We will take it where we can get it. Its not something that we are actively in pursuit, because generally people travel for business reasons not because they saw and ad. I think that provided that we provide the necessary services, then those businesses will come.
I would say that conferences, is more significant for us. We have an incentive program working with the Sherbourne conference centre, to go into the U.S. market to attract more conferences to Barbados. Especially with the Hilton coming on board in November, its going to attract additional conference facilities. Infact the World Travel Awards will be held here in Barbados in November.

Q: What other market segments are you expanding?
A: Golf is one of them we are focusing on heavily. We have a partnership with the major golf clubs on the island promoting Barbados as a Golf destination. We are looking at the Diving market. There is a big market for diving in the world and we are aiming at expanding even further are offer. Another one is weddings and honeymoons which we will be working on.

Q: In 2001, year of the September 11 attacks, arrivals from the U.S. were over 100,000, with a 21% of the total market share in arrivals. Would you say that the U.S. traveller confidence has started to build up to the levels it was before?
A: I would say it has started to build up, but I wouldn't say it is back to normal yet. Obviously there are still many security concerns, BA is cancelling some of its flights at the moment. So, with of all of that stuff going around the media, there still is some sense that something could happen. But generally, the issues of the past are beginning to fade and people are ready to travel again. In January alone, business from the U.S. was up 10% and due to the additional airlift, U.S. market share is going up above 20%, so I think eventually it will come back.

Q: Could you expand a little more on the programs to attract more visitors specific to the U.S.?
A: One of the things that we launched over the last two years is the "Best of Barbados" program which involved 200 U.S. aircredit, plus free breakfast at hotels and discounts off attractions of the island. That did fairly well, as I said one of the issues in the U.S. is because we are so far south, the tickets are more expensive than some of the northern destinations. And especially in times when people were a little reluctant to flight, price was really driving everything. Through the "Best of Barbados" we were able to be more competitive.

Q: What does it mean to you to be voted, out of hundreds of thousands of votes the Caribbean's Leading Tourist & Convention Bureau. At the World Travel Award, what many in the industry consider as the best endorsement that any travel product could receive?
A: It meant a lot to us and to the entire country. It means that people outside of Barbados actually recognise what we are doing, under very challenging times, as I said the last two or three years have not been very easy. A lot of people here in Barbados have been working very hard. A fantastic feeling.

Q: I would like to invite you to give a message to all of the USA Today readers out there in the world. Something that you personally feel they should know.
A: "A little bit further to get to, but a whole lot harder to leave."