Above: Barbados (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Barbados has “great interest” in courting tourists from China, according to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.

The Prime Minister was speaking following a courtesy call with China’s new Ambassador to Barbados, Wang Ke, this week.

“We have great interest in seeing Chinese nationals traveling to Barbados and taking in the cultural and other offerings,” he told the new Chinese envoy. “As we deepen our relationship, I hope more Chinese visitors will come here and I want to see also an increasing number of Barbadians going to China.”

As the Caribbean tourism industry continues to compete with regions around the world for hard-fought tourist dollars, it’s looking to the Far East as a new source market, although questions remain over how to actually do so.

Caribbean hotel projects like the Baha Mar project in the Bahamas are now actively seeking Asian tourists, having recently announced the formation of an office in Hong Kong specifically for that purpose.

Wang said that, with increased promotion in China, Barbados should attract more visitors.

The two sides also discussed the formation of a Confucius School at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus.