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The Tourism Fund

The Tourism Fund is a voluntary contribution fund set up by the Association in 2003 under the guidance of then President, Mr. Wayne Capaldi.

The Fund allows the BHTA to make a more impactful contribution to the actions and decisions which affect the private sector tourism industry and our membership; to bring something more tangible to the “table”; to be in a position of greater independence; to have greater control of our destiny. 

Contributions to the Fund are primarily made by hotel guests on a voluntary basis through an additional charge on their bill at check out.  This standard international practice has met with great success with visitors to the island being happy to contribute the nominal fee of between US$0.25 – US$2.00 per night.

The Fund is managed under the umbrella of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association by a separate Board of Trustees, with input from the Barbados Tourism Authority and The Tourism Development Corporation.

The fund is spent on both marketing and product development projects that help enhance our island and by extension, our tourism product for visitors and locals alike e.g. beautification of several areas in Barbados; beach rejuvenation; improving road signage; the official booking engine for Barbados www.BookBarbadosNow.com.
 

Some Key Tourism Fund Projects

Official Barbados booking engine www.BookBarbadosNow.com Launched in 2011 Taste of Barbados - The forerunner of the Barbados Food, Wine and    Rum Festival. - This established the value of culinary niche    marketing to Barbados. West Coast Beach Restoration 2010 – 2011 Staycation Barbados Road Signage project Youth & HR Development -  Barbados Culinary Team Niche Marketing Epicurean: -  Taste of London -  Taste of Summer New York -  South Beach Food and Wine, Miami -  New York Food and Wine -  Aspen Food and Wine Classic Niche Marketing: Trade Shows – Weddings, Water Activities, etc   Attending shows to represent our membership: -  Brazil -  New York -  Dallas -  Birmingham -  London -  Los Angeles Visitor and Public Safety Partnering with strategy partners to make a difference: -  Segways for Boardwalk -  CCTV Camera Network -  Crime Stoppers Competitive Study on Tourism in Barbados SSA pet Patrol Project National Garbage Bin Project Restoration of Holetown Bridge Rally Barbados Sentabale Polo Culinary Alliance of Barbados Certificate Training For Tour Guides Barbados Wedding Symposium Garrison Historic Area

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Upcoming Product Club Initiatives

The Fund also supports the development of our targeted niche markets through the work of our four (4) Product Clubs: Weddings and Romance, Water Activities, MICE, Epicurean.  Their goal? Bring more visitors to Barbados!

Some upcoming initiatives include:

1. The creation of two underwater attractions that will enhance our dive, snorkelling and water activities market share.
2. Strategic partnership with the world’s most renowned wedding site The Knot to position Barbados as the premier wedding destination in the Caribbean.
3. The development and promotion of epicurean heritage experience which will embrace elements of community tourism
4. The development of strategic and innovative marketing initiatives to identify, target, attract and increase Barbados’ market share of the meetings, incentives, conferences and events market