By the Caribbean Journal staff

Barbados broke a 30-year-old tourism record last year, and the trend continues upward.

The island is on track for even more sustained growth in 2018, according to Petra Roach, the U.S. Director of Barbados Tourism Marketing.

“This is a really exciting time in Barbados’s journey and we want to spread the message that a vacation to Barbados is an immersive, transformative experience rather than just ‘sun, sea and sand,’” Roach said.

Barbados had a banner year that also saw the addition of a host of new concepts, from the debut of the New Nikki Beach to the launch of the new all-suite Sandals Royal Barbados.

That came as a wave of hotels completed transformation projects, from the Sea Breeze Beach House to the Fairmont Royal Pavilion.

The island has also been boosted by the debut of new, transformed hotels like Treasure Beach, above.

The centerpiece of the surge may have been the debut of the highly-anticipated Treasure Beach, Elegant Hotels’ adults-only stunner on the West Coast.

This year, Barbados is looking to focus on food, with its recently-launched “Year of Culinary Experiences” campaign, which highlights culinary and local experiences, led by the ever-popular Barbados Food and Rum Festival.