Getting a taste of Barbados

The Tourism Authority of Barbados definitely knows how to host their guests.

After the two-day Connect Barbados conference, BTMI had planned for all their guests (representing tour operators from Canada, the U.K., France, Brazil and the Netherlands) an amazing day featuring the best things to do on the island.

Barbados is not just the land of sun, sand and sea. It's also about history, culture, gastronomy and attractions, so the BTMI made sure their guests were going to leave the island knowing what to say to potential travellers and clients.

The Canadian guests stayed at the beautiful Crane Resort, located just 10 minutes from the airport. The oldest hotel in Barbados, the resort is owned by Canadian businessman Paul Doyle and is situated on a cliff, offering luxury accommodations and a beautiful beach.

The 100 delegates started with an early morning at the Bushy Park Race Circuit, where they were greeted by race car driver and track chairman Mark Maloney.

Bushy Park is built on an old plantation that was refurbished in a matter of eight months, which is now able to welcome 20,000 racing fans. Everybody had the chance to have the ride of their life in a race car and some of the luckier guest even had a second tour in Maloney’s Porsche.

From the race track, delegates passed through the breathtaking mountain scenery of the East Coast to Port St-Charles, where they boarded the Tiami Catamaran for a relaxing three-hour trip, enjoying a good lunch and rum punch on the Atlantic Ocean.

Arriving in Bridgetown later in the afternoon, guests then headed 150 feet under the ocean with the Atlantis Submarine, which offers underwater Caribbean adventures for all ages, where guests admired ocean wildlife like coral and sea turtles among the shipwrecks of Barbados’ colonial past.

The journey ended with a Black Pearl Party cruise aboard the Jolly Roger for dinner and a fabulous show of limbo dancing, stilt walkers, fire eating and comical Bajan characters.

If you travel to Barbados, make sure you stop by Oistins, an active fishing town on the south coast which is a hub of activity, especially on Friday night.

Each Friday and Saturday night, hundreds of locals and visitors flock to Oistins for the Fish-Fry, a weekly opportunity to enjoy the very best local food. 

Night life in Barbados starts in St. Lawrence Gap, which boasts a number of nightclubs catering to all musical tastes.

See you at next year’s event!

MAIN PHOTO: Guests of the BTMI get ready to race at Barbados' Bushy Park Race Circuit, one of several attractions highlighted during the recent Connect Barbados conference.