Barbados’ Tourism Strategy And The Power Of Caribbean Branding

Submitted by Corey Weekes MSc, CPIM, CIRM, CSCP - Operations Supply Chain Management Consultant and Director of Tropique Wines

Tourism discussions over several months, rightly indicate concerns about the performance of the industry, and what is needed to ensure long its term growth. I do agree with commentators who indicate that taxing the industry into oblivion, either in the form of transportation related taxes, or excise tax increases etc is not beneficial. Higher costs to the traveler surely reduce our global competitiveness.  Instead of squeezing more tax dollars from less travelers, we need a focused strategy that significantly increases the total number of visitors to the island. A point we all know, and is easier said than done. Revamping our current brand image as we execute a new strategy, may go a long way toward continually increasing our visitor arrivals. As we explore this thought, let us examine two powerful brands, Cuba and Disney.

Recent geo-political events suggest that Cuba is poised to become the key tourism player in the very near future, possibly resulting in tourism decline in eastern Caribbean markets, unless these markets change their marketing model. This is a very real possibility, since the advertising exposure Cuba has received over the last five decades, in the form of various news reports covering ideological differences and its Olympic performances etc, has created a global awareness and a curiosity factor. This global awareness and curiosity factor is difficult to create via advertising spend only. It is no surprise that the pent-up demand from its neighbour to the north, will result in significant airlift increase and hotel plant spend in Cuba, when travel restrictions are eventually lifted. We can conduct a simple survey on Broad Street, and I am confident that more than 50% of persons surveyed will indicate a willingness to travel to Cuba, to see the island’s very popular history for themselves. That is indeed a powerful brand

Similarly, Disney and its theme parks in the USA, France, Japan and Hong Kong, reflect the strength of another global brand. The arrival halls at Orlando’s Sanford airport or Orlando International Airport are filled year-round with thousands of families and repeat visitors trekking to the magic kingdom and many other theme parks. Again, take another informal survey of any Barbadian child, and I am sure Disney World ranks as a destination to visit, before several other Caribbean destinations. Why is this? Simply put, it has been the strong branding exercise of children’s shows, cartoons and movies emanating from this advertising and branding engine known as Disney. Children globally have been enamoured with these images from an early age, and the entire branding exercise highlights the fact that the USA does an exceptional job of exporting its culture, which generates global demand for its products and lifestyle. The result is a large natural, global demand for a Disney destination, to the extent that declines in other tourism locations do not impact Disney destinations to the same extent.

Barbados’ tourism strategy is connected to the concept of these two brands, because it hints at a need to export a very strong brand or story, to the rest of the world, to create a natural visitor pull to the island, and ensure long term tourism growth. Let us consider the following names, Malibu CARIBBEAN Rum, Royal CARIBBEAN cruises, and Pirates of the CARIBBEAN. All globally recognisable brands, capitalising on the use of the word Caribbean. The strength of the Caribbean as a brand is arguably stronger and more globally known than the strength of a singular island e.g. Barbados. How many people have we met in our travels who know of the Caribbean, but struggle with naming or locating individual islands? Do we want to continue spending huge sums trying to differentiate Barbados from the rest of the Caribbean? Or would we want to capitalise on the latent energy captured in the strength of the Caribbean region as a global brand? Which, due to its global appeal and awareness, may require less tourism dollars to leverage. If we agree that marketing the Caribbean brand, experienced as a visitor to Barbados, may have more long term viability and traction, then the question is how do we approach this?

I suggest that we adopt a strategy where we market that CARIBBEAN experience in Barbados at all tourism price points. In the short term, an existing location like the Sir Garfield Sobers gymnasium complex, inclusive of the entire site, should be transformed on a weekly or twice weekly basis, where cruise ship and on-shore tourists, can be bussed for a whole day Caribbean cultural experience and showcase. Calypso from Trinidad, Barbados and other Caribbean islands, salsa dancers from Cuba, as well as performers from the French, Dutch and Netherland Antilles etc. Art and craft, as well as foods from Grenada, St Vincent, Guyana among others, in addition to television productions, both films and short form documentaries etc. The idea is to start and perfect the ability to showcase the many aspects of culture and talent from the entire, globally known Caribbean region, as opposed to a lesser known, singular destination. And initially offer a rich, cultural experience that is currently unavailable in any Caribbean destination today. This is what should be continually developed and marketed globally. Government does not have to manage this showcase, but guide its development and facilitate the entrepreneurship legislation needed to stage this activity. This can be fostered by providing tax breaks for entertainment companies willing to engage in this business, facilitating hassle-free travel for artiste from across the region to perform at this cultural showcase, and other required incentives needed for the private sector to get this promotion started and make Barbados the Caribbean hub for showcasing regional talent. The spin-off benefits for local entertainers, artist, craft persons and theatrical persons is significant, as a cultural industry is developed, that links tourism, culture and agriculture. And the ability of Barbados to offer more variety to its travel industry partners is increased.

In the medium to long term, the thrust is to build on this foundation, and develop cultural clusters around the island, that not only reflect Barbados’ culture, but the Caribbean culture on the whole. Anyone should be able to visit the Theatre district and watch theatre, short films from across the Caribbean. Or the Art district, where the best artists and art from the Caribbean is on display. Or even little Jamaica, where the best Jamaican foods and reggae culture is on display. It is not a stretch to imagine a location like Oistins permanently showcasing, not only the best local foods, but also the best foods from St Lucia, Cuba, Dominica, etc. A visitor to this island would be enthralled at the diversity of the Caribbean experience in one destination, Barbados. It is ironic that as Barbadians, we travel internationally and go to “China Town”, “Little Italy”, or “Greek Town”, all locations that make London and New York interesting places to visit, without fully appreciating that the strength of these brands is the eclectic representation of many nationalities and ethnicities that these cities have become. Rich experiences in destinations like these are reported to friends and family and create awareness of a destination akin to the excitement of sharing a Disney experience, or a trip to Cuba. Similarly, the Caribbean has been building brand equity for decades with cultural exports such as Bob Marley, Peter Minshall, Euzhan Palcy and more recently Rihanna, who incidently clearly demonstrates how a little known brand can be cultivated in a short time-frame, given a clear strategy and focus. The region has a rich cultural tapestry that travels beyond a singular island. The key maybe to develop a sophisticated industry, that offers the visitor much more cultural diversity, as well as sun, sea and sand to justify traveling thousands of miles.