Special Interest Tourism in Barbados Case Study

Special Interest Tourism in Barbados - Case Study Example At that time, cruise passenger arrivals were about 510,000 with 528 cruise ship calls in 2006. Part of the motivation for this strategy related to the clear indications that Caribbean nations were competing aggressively for cruise ship calls and that the traditionally strong position of Barbados (with its port facilities and long history of tourism activity) would lose market share. As its statistics indicate, there has been an almost 15% decline since 2006. Part of this is the increased competition Barbados expected. In addition, repositioning of cruise ship routes and itineraries has also contributed to the decline. The industry is always looking for new destinations to appeal to its markets (particularly repeat cruisers) and Barbados has the added disadvantage of being one of the oldest cruise destinations in the Caribbean. Of particular interest is the approach Barbados took in developing its cruise strategy. While cruise passenger arrivals declined in 2006, some believe that the partnership approach Barbados took in developing the cruise strategy helped to avoid an even greater decline. The key theme in the Barbados cruise strategy approach was a consultative and partnership oriented relationship with the cruise industry. ... Barbados went into the strategy with a conviction that the cruise industry was good for the country and that management and shaping of its benefits to complement Barbados' expectations for tourism sector benefits was the objective. With the cooperation of the cruise industry, Barbados undertook the following consultations as part of its cruise strategy development: - Interviews with cruise line executives, those responsible for itinerary development, cruise ship directors and tourism industry representatives in Barbados; - Surveys of cruise ship passengers and crew. Some of the key findings shaping the resulting cruise tourism strategy are described below. The following are excerpts from the 2006 Cruise Tourism Report prepared by ARA Consulting Group for the Barbados Tourism Development Programme and report on surveys conducted in 2006. From the point of view of cruise line executives, Barbados gets generally high markets. It enjoys very good market recognition, is well known, gets good reviews from passengers, provides good ground tours, and is above average in terms of safety. It has a good image, a high profile, and is considered a good traditional destination. It has potential for attracting up-market cruise passengers for high quality shore excursions like nature tourism, heritage tourism, golf, and similar activities. The cruise lines believed that services provided by the Barbados Port Authority are more than adequate and that the current cost structure is acceptable, although there is concern about cost increases. In general, they have little concern with congestion problems except for the typical mid-week situation when more than one or two large ships arrive. They were