Barbados Builds Its Own Online Travel Booking Platform to Be a Game Changer
Photo Credit: An aerial view of Barbados' coastline. Visit Barbados / Courtesy of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.
Skift Take
This is what action looks like, if Caribbean tourism is to build back better. Investment in technology, a solid private-public relationship, and homegrown talent driving the framework and the narrative.
When the pandemic hit, the hospitality and tourism industry in the Caribbean wasn’t just hurt by the absence of visitors. It was faced with a larger conundrum: delayed payments from major international tour operators, such as TUI and Virgin Holidays, for services rendered in the first three months of 2020. By May 2020, 69 percent of hotels had reported being owed from $200,000 up to $15 million, according to the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.
Two years on, a solution has emerged out of Barbados that could point to a groundbreaking model for the rest of the Caribbean region. Launched at the close of 2021, BookBarbados.com, a Barbadian-owned and independently funded and operated online travel booking platform, allows users to buy hotel stays ranging from luxury to budget, local tours, Airbnb rentals, and long term stays all in one place. The site also taps into local influencer recommendations for a more authentic version of the island.
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