BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) is engaging the US travel agent community in a major way this December.
In describing as a first-of-its-kind mega fam, Director USA, Petra Roach, revealed that from 6.30 pm on Dec. 8 150 agents from the tristate area, Massachusetts, South Florida and the US West Coast will be Barbados-bound for an authentic four-day island experience.
The fam or familiarization trip, designed to showcase Barbados in all of its authenticity, will commence with a flight aboard a dedicated JetBlue A 320 aircraft – rebranded the “party plane”. During the flight, they will be treated to Bajan cocktails and entertainment, as well as a series of prize draws.
A packed itinerary awaits the group, including a “Polo Under the Stars” event, complete with pop-up restaurant tastings from some of the finest venues on island; beach experiences inclusive of diving, snorkeling, surfing; cooking classes; a ‘raft-up’ catamaran excursion; rum tastings; historical tours and authentic Bajan beach parties. They will also attend a seminar geared toward updating them on the island’s marketing initiatives and product updates, as well as a marketplace where they will conduct one-on-one meetings with on-island partners.
“I cannot stress enough how important the travel agent community is to our marketing efforts and we firmly believe in the old adage that seeing is believing,” says Petra Roach, Director USA, BTMI. “The Spirit of Barbados is the theme of our familiarization trip where we will encourage agents to discover the spirit, embrace the spirit and then share the spirit of Barbados. We believe that Barbados possesses that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that envelopes our visitors when they visit, which makes them feel safe, secure and at peace.”
She added, “We want to provide a fully immersive, educational experience for our partners so that when they leave, they fully understand what the Barbados holiday proposition truly feels like. And what better way to get there, than with jetBlue who continue to show tremendous commitment to the development of tourism to Barbados from the USA, with flights originating from JFK, Fort Lauderdale, Boston and a new Newark service commencing on Nov. 19.”
Travel Agent magazine, with its audience of 50,040 Verified Audit travel agency owners, presidents, vice presidents, general managers, managers, frontline travel agents is the official media partner and will be producing a 24-page supplement featuring the highlights of the visit. This will be distributed with their Feb. 6, 2017 edition. A 10-minute video memento will also be produced to be shared with participants.
The mega-fam also comes at an exciting time for the island, as 2016 also marks Barbados’ Golden Jubilee, celebrating 50 years of independence in 2016 with a calendar full of exciting on-island events and a great deal of Bajan pride.
