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BTA JAZZES UP BET J
The Barbados Tourism
Authority (BTA) has
guaranteed exposure of the
island’s tourism product to
potential North American
visitors over the next eight
weeks through the airing of
the 15th Barbados
Jazz Festival on BET J, one
of America's top digital
cable networks.
This Saturday, July 12 at 1
p.m. and 7 p.m. (Eastern
Time), viewers will discover
and appreciate the
authenticity of Barbados as
African American television
host and comedian Chris
Spencer reviews the crystal
anniversary of the festival
which featured the neo soul
styling of Erykah Badu,
keyboardist Bob James,
saxophonist and flautist
Kenny Garrett, guitarist Lee
Ritenour and regional and
local musicians, such as
guitarist Clifton Glasgow,
steel plan player David "Ziggy"
Walcott, The Almond Band,
among others.
Sunbury Plantation, Heritage
Park/The Rum Factory and
Farley Hill provided ideal
settings for jazz, providing
a theatre-in-the-round
ambiance for entertainers to
interact with their
audience. "Viewers will once
again experience a
compelling series of
performances and
Barbados'
stunning beauty, and with
Chris Spencer as host
viewers will be even more
entertained," noted Cybelle
Brown, Vice President of
Sales and Business
Development of BET Digital
Networks, who thanked the
Barbados Tourism Authority
and Gilbert Rowe of GMR
Productions for partnering
on another first class
Caribbean
event.
"We
continue to place strong
value in our partnership
with BET J, which continues
to attract new and repeat
visitors to our shores,"
added Averil Byer, Director
of Marketing Services with
the Barbados Tourism
Authority, who added that
jazz patrons at home showed
their appreciation this
January by attending in
large numbers even though
Barbados was in the midst of
a general election.
The festival show will air
on BET J's "Island Lime"
Saturday format on July 12,
July 26, August 2, August
16, August 30 and September
6 (1
p.m.
and
7 p.m.).
All telecast times are
Eastern.
AUSSIE GOES TO CALYPSO
Barbados
welcomed over 2000
Australian cricket fans,
including 300 Aussie
Fanatics, visited
Barbados during
the just concluded
West Indies vs.
Australia test
series and among them was
one special cricket lover,
Gus (left), who will star in
a reality show entitled
“Aussie Goes to Calypso”.
The fun-loving, risk-taking
Australian, though not a
typical TV star by any
stretch of the imagination,
has been intriguing millions
of views of Fox Australia by
showing them the tourism
value of various cricketing
destinations from the eyes
of “an ordinary bloke”.
Matthew Weiss, producer of
Granada TV, speaking on
behalf of himself and his
crew, two producers, three
camera operators, an audio
operator and a location
coordinator gave a summary
of the observational
documentary.
“Viewers can relate easily
to him because Gus is just a
cricket fan, not trying to
be polished guy who gets out
there and tries everything.
“Gus thinks he’s the
Australian team’s lucky
charm! At heart he’s just a
fun-loving cricket fan who
shows views, different foods
and lots of tourist
activities as he follows the
team to their various
international matches.
“In
Barbados
he enjoyed a visit to
St. John’s
church, surfing lessons,
Aerial Trek and eating
souse! He’ll try anything.
We film him in the crowd all
day. He’s also a very good
cricket player.”
Gus proved that he has been
picking up a thing or two
from trailing the world No.
1 Australian cricket team
during a friendly match
between the Banks/ BTA’s
Legends and the Aussie
Fanatics at the Dover
Cricket Field last month.
Gus scored a hearty 69
though Fanatics would
eventually lose to the BTA’s
Legends who had set a modest
total of 188 runs in the 20/
20 match.
Once this episode is
completed, says
Weiss,
Barbados’
tourism industry stands to
benefit tremendously as Gus’
positive impressions of the
island are great
word-of-mouth marketing for
the destination.
“It’ll give Australians a
real view of what happens
when you come to
Barbados.
They’ll see the character
and people how friendly they
are, how easy it is to get
around. The roads are good
here and everything runs
very good. Also there are
beautiful beaches.
“The people who watch it
think it could be them
because he’s normal.
Australians are very laid
back easy going and love the
outdoor lifestyle and good
music and it’s a part of the
culture here in
Barbados.”
The program “Aussie goes to
Calypso” will air multiple
times over the next three
years and is estimated to
have a value of US $1.95
million, excluding the cost
of airtime. “
Baxters Road
ready for Festival
Renovations of the Baxter’s
Road Fish Fry facilities are
scheduled to be completed in
time to coincide with the
Crop Over 2008 festivities.
The renovation efforts, a
part of the Urban
Redevelopment Programme (URP),
are being executed by the
Barbados Tourism Investment
Inc. (BTII) on behalf of the
Barbados
government.
BTII
representative and
administrative assistant
communications (URP) Susan
Bishop, confirmed that a
tentative opening date of
Friday July 25, 2008 has
been established, adding
that the renovated
facilities will be open for
business the following day
Saturday, July 26, 2008.
Manager product integration,
Andrea Franklin (left), BTA,
has expressed her
contentment on the
initiative, stating that
this represents positive
“product development through
reviving the traditional
fish fry in Baxter’s Road
while uplifting the image of
the area to be more parallel
with the Oistin's Fish Fry.“
The new Baxter’s Road
facilities will include
improved lighting, better
housing for vendors in the
form of kiosks, and more
welcoming landscaping.
The Baxter’s Road Fish Fry
is located in the heart of
Bridgetown,
giving it a more central and
convenient location than
hot-spot sister venue
Oistin’s Fish Fry.
JUNIOR MINISTER OF TOURISM
CONTEST CHURNS OUT BRIGHT
IDEAS
Fourteen Barbadian students
matched wits, ideas and
creativity last Monday, July
7 in a bid to become Junior
Minister of Tourism 2008-9.
To their delight the present
Minister, Hon. Richard
Sealy, was present to
deliver the introductory
remarks during which he
endorsed their involvement
in the sector as young
people.
"Young people will be the
muscle of the sector in the
months to come. We have to
think outside the box . . .
[and] I will be tuning in to
see what you have to say,"
he said.
The competition, which took
place at the Sherbourne
Conference Centre, took the
form of a cabinet meeting
where each participant was
asked to speak on behalf of
a constituency.
Each participant was asked
to deliver two oral
presentations on issue of
climate change and its
impact on tourism, and
community tourism, with
emphasis on recommendations.
Some of the creative ideas
put forward toward curbing
climate change included
taxing the profits of
entities the produce
excessive green houses
cases; reinforcing physical
structures to guard against
extreme weather conditions;
and developing cartoons
characters that would
educate persons of the
negative impact of their
daily actions such as
dumping and excessive use of
public utilities on the
environment.
Ideas for developing
community tourism ranged
from providing incentives
for locals who provide
authentic tours for visitors
and establishing
entertainment, culinary and
other centers in various
parishes.
The eventual winner was
Jason Yearwood, the honorary
member for Christ Church
South and student of Queen’s
College, who will represent
Barbados
at the Caribbean Tourism
Organizations’ Regional
Youth Congress later this
year.
The participating schools
were Queen's College,
Combermere, The Lodge
School, Springer Memorial,
Ellerslie, Coleridge &
Parry, Christ Church
Foundation and
Harrison
College.

Junior Minister of Tourism
2008-9, Jason Yearwood,
flanked by third place Neco
Ifill (left) and Che
Greenidge (right).
Barbados
a preferred destination for
English-learning students
This past Tuesday, July 8,
the Barbados Tourism
Authority opened its doors
to a group of students from
Martinique,
who are presently
participating in a cultural
exchange to improve their
proficiency in English.
The group of 30 students,
ranging from 11 – 18 years
of age, visited the head
office at
Harbour Road
accompanied by overall
coordinator of the tour
Madame Maryse Francois,
Director of the Caribbean
Community Business
Development (CCBD).
Business development
manager,
Caribbean
and
Latin America,
Stacey Hutchinson,
BTA, welcomed the group and
gave a concise presentation
on tourism in
Barbados
and the importance of the
Caribbean
market.
“Barbados
continues to be a preferred
destination for students
from the
French West Indies
who seek to learn and
improve their use of English
as a foreign language. We
trust that this experience
would be beneficial and hope
that they would encourage
other Martiniquans to visit
Barbados,”
she declared.
The students will be in
Barbados
for one month, during which
they will be hosted by
various Barbadian families.
Other activities on island
include daily classes in
English, island tours and
visits to various
attractions including
Harrison’s
Cave and shopping in
Bridgetown.
© 2008 Barbados Tourism
Authority
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