Above: Barbados

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Barbados is reforming the Barbados Tourism Authority.

The island announced this week that it would be reforming the original authority into two new divisions: Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc. and the Barbados Tourism Product Authority.

The new divisions will “work together to transform the current tourism landscape creating a bold new organization focused on keeping the island top of mind in the dynamic and ever-changing tourism industry,” the country said in a statement.

Barbados Tourism Marketing will take over responsibility for all destination marketing, while the Barbados Tourism Product Authority will focus on “development and improvement of the island’s current and future tourism offerings.”

“The global travel industry is changing rapidly and it’s absolutely critical for Barbados that we respond to those changes equally swiftly, in order to protect and build our visitor economy for the future,” said Petra Roach, Chief Executive Officer of the BTMI. “Consumers and travel partners are adopting new technologies, researching, booking and communicating their travel experiences very differently than in the past decade. Our two new focused organizations; the BTMI and BTPA, will ensure we develop and communicate the best possible products for our island and our visitors for the future. We very much look forward to working with all our partners in this new era.”