Special Interest Tourism in Barbados - Case Study Example

SPECIAL INTEREST TOURISM ENTERPRISES: Barbados Cruise Tours (If required, please discuss with on Academia-Research.com 16 Dec 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Tourism Marketing Strategies 3. Special Interest Tourism Definitions 4. Trends and Socio-demographic Issues 5. Summary References 1. Introduction Barbados attracted almost one million tourist and cruise passenger arrivals in 2007-2008. A popular cruise destination, the country had 406 cruise ship calls in 2007-2008 with about 730,000 cruise passenger arrivals (68% in the winter season). The country has a thriving tourism industry, with tourism arrivals of over 500,000 (2007), complementing the cruise industry arrivals. Tourism is an important economic sector for Barbados and the country of 267,500 allocated US$18.3 million for its tourism budget, the majority of which is devoted to marketing the destination. 2. Tourism Marketing Strategies As part of an overall review of its tourism sector, Barbados commissioned the preparation of tourism for cruise strategy in 2006. At that time, cruise passenger arrivals were about 510,000 with 528 cruise ship calls in 2006. Part of the motivation for this strategy related to the clear indications that Caribbean nations were competing aggressively for cruise ship calls and that the traditionally strong position of Barbados (with its port facilities and long history of tourism activity) would lose market share. As its statistics indicate, there has been an almost 15% decline since 2006. Part of this is the increased competition Barbados expected. In addition, repositioning of cruise ship routes and itineraries has also contributed to the decline. The industry is always looking for new destinations to appeal to its markets (particularly repeat cruisers) and Barbados has the added disadvantage of being one of the oldest cruise destinations in the Caribbean. Of particular interest is the approach Barbados took in developing its cruise strategy. While cruise passenger arrivals declined in 2006, some believe that the partnership approach Barbados took in developing the cruise strategy helped to avoid an even greater decline. The key theme in the Barbados cruise strategy approach was a consultative and partnership oriented relationship with the cruise industry. Barbados went into the strategy with a conviction that the cruise industry was good for the country and that management and shaping of its benefits to complement Barbados' expectations for tourism sector benefits was the objective. With the cooperation of the cruise industry, Barbados undertook the following consultations as part of its cruise strategy development: - Interviews with cruise line executives, those responsible for itinerary development, cruise ship directors and tourism industry representatives in Barbados; - Surveys of cruise ship passengers and crew. Some of the key findings shaping the resulting cruise tourism strategy are described below. The following are excerpts from the 2006 Cruise Tourism Report prepared by ARA Consulting Group for the Barbados Tourism Development Programme and report on surveys conducted in 2006. From the point of view of cruise line executives, Barbados gets generally high markets. It enjoys very good market recognition, is well known, gets good reviews from passengers, provides good ground tours, and is above average in terms of safety. It has a good image, a high profile, and is considered a good traditional destination. It has potential for attracting up-market cruise passengers for high quality shore excursions like nature tourism, heritage tourism, golf, and similar activities. The cruise lines believed that services provided by the Barbados Port Authority are more than adequate and that the current cost structure is acceptable, although there is concern about cost increases. In general, they have little concern with congestion problems except for the typical mid-week situation when more than one or two large ships arrive. They were interested in finding ways in which greater volumes can be accommodated without congestion by cooperative rescheduling of itineraries. In terms of Barbados' land product, operators felt it is of good quality and more diversified than many other destinations. It is handled by good agents and tour operators, and transportation is reasonably well controlled and organized, although there is considerable concern about the taxi situation at the port. There is an opportunity to add more active, experiential, cultural and heritage shore experiences. While the Barbados shore excursion product shows better diversification than many islands, some attractions were felt to be poorly delivered - Harrison's Cave is consistently mentioned by operators as being very popular but poor in terms of waiting times and congestion. Cruise ship representatives indicated that most passengers go ashore - from 80% to 95%. With respect to those who undertake shore excursions, the answers varied considerably but the average appeared to be about 50%. Popular land-based excursions included a visit to Harrison's Cave, various tours of the island featuring a variety of attractions, and helicopter tours. For tours presold aboard ship before arrival in Barbados (estimated at 40% to 45% of all passengers who disembark) the mark-up varied from ship to ship, averaging about 40%. In response to questions about their own and their passengers' perceptions of Barbados' strengths and weaknesses as a destination, cruise line representatives were more positive than negative about the port. They placed a large value on access to good guides, good product, and well run excursions and transportation. They thought highly of island tours, the generally welcoming attitude of Barbadians, the beautiful beaches, and generally positive experiences. When asked about weaknesses, they cited high costs, the taxi situation at the port, Harrison's Cave, and insufficient facilities at the port. The survey of passengers revealed that the majority reported being very satisfied (57%) or satisfied (37%) with Barbados as a destination. Passengers cited friendly and honest people, convenient shopping, beaches and water sports, cleanliness, the use of English as a working language and good cruise terminal facilities as positive aspects of the experience. 3. Special Interest Tourism Definitions Tourism interests in Barbados have a business-like approach to the opportunity represented by cruise tourism. Most appreciate that Barbados is a small participant in a world wide market dominated by a few very large companies, and that its influence is not such that it can dictate which ships it will accept. On the other hand, they also recognise that business is business, that a good deal is a good deal if it benefits both parties, and that Barbados, with its strong, diverse onshore product and high profile within the industry, has a relatively strong base from which to promote its cruise tourism interests. In explicit recognition of the contribution cruise tourism makes to the country, a cruise tourism strategy for Barbados was developed to attain two key goals: - To maximise value added from cruise tourism rather than focusing on the volume of cruise tourists visiting the Island; and - To maximise the rate of conversion of cruise tourists to stayover tourists. Attainment of these two goals would, in effect, extract increased benefits from an already valuable resource - cruise tourism - and transform a portion of that resource into an even more valuable commodity - stayover tourism. 4. Trends and Socio-demographic Issues Cruise tourism in Barbados, as in most destinations, grew without significant effort or forward planning by any one agency within the country. Barbados, with its large, well developed port, its citizens who make guests feel welcome, and its diverse shore attractions, was well placed to participate in the cruise phenomenon. Growth in cruise tourism arrivals was substantial and remarkably consistent. But it was not planned. During the 2000s, public sector tourism interests (mainly the Barbados Tourism Authority) focused, appropriately enough, on stayover tourists. Cruise tourism was handled by the Barbados Port Authority (BPA), who developed good relations with the cruise lines, marketed the port, and saw increasing volumes as a result. It was natural for the BPA to focus on cruise tourism volume - to maximise port fees and head taxes as ways of financing the capital port investments required to serve the market. The cruise industry has since matured. Cruise volumes in the region are at an all-time high and increasing. As lines fight for market share, there is increasing pressure to reduce fares (particularly on mid-sized lines operating smaller-than-average vessels). This has led to the rise of "niche" operators who attempt to distinguish themselves in by offering special cruise packages focusing on special interests - nature and heritage, sports (spectator and participative), chess, bridge, literature, science, or any number of special interests for which there may be a market. These special interest cruises attract higher income passengers who spend more while ashore. And on-shore expenditures are the real measure of cruise tourism's contribution to the Island economy. Port fees of perhaps US $1,200 per visit for a 1,000 passenger vessel, when added to the $6.00 passenger head tax, generate only US $7.20 per passenger in foreign exchange, whereas passenger spending of even a "low-value" cruise tourist would be in the US $20 to US $30 per day range. Per passenger spending of US $90 or more by older passengers of non-North American origins is common - representing an excellent market by which to increase on-island cruise tourist spending. The European cruise market, estimated (in 2007) to represent about 17% of Barbadian cruise arrivals, is projected to increase to 23% or more of arrivals over the next decade. And Europeans generally spend more while ashore than do North Americans. In addition, Europe has a greater population than North America, a long maritime heritage, a well-educated population, and discerning consumers with high disposable incomes. This market presents another opportunity for Barbados to increase value added from cruise tourism. While the potential for Barbados to act as a home port for major US cruise lines is not great, the island is well positioned to offer European and smaller US-based cruise ship operators an excellent opportunity to home port their ships during the Caribbean cruising season. From the point of view of image and market positioning, it is better for a European cruise operator to establish its own identity in a port such as Barbados rather than to become a small player in the large US port. As well, Barbados is closer to Europe than is San Juan or Miami. While the frequency and capacity of scheduled flights between Europe and Barbados are insufficient to handle a significant amount of home porting traffic from Europe, charter flights could take up the volume. The fact that the European cruise business is growing faster than the North American product, coupled with the fact that European operators generally bring higher spending passengers on smaller ships than do North America-based operators, suggest a thrust on home porting of European ships would bear fruit. Maximising the rate of conversion of cruise tourists to stayover tourists would have an even greater impact on the Barbadian economy than maximising cruise tourist on-shore expenditures. While a typical cruise tourist might spend US $40 or US $50 while ashore on a one-day visit, a typical stayover tourist will spend over US $100 for each of the 11 days he or she will spend on the Island - more than 20 times as much. In 2006, roughly 510,000 cruise passengers arrived at Barbados. An analysis to account for those who stay aboard and those who only stay in the terminal area suggests that an estimated 45% of arrivals are good candidates for a cruise-to-stayover campaign. In the case of 2006 arrivals, this represents 230,000 passengers. The cruise passenger survey conducted as part of the assignment contained questions relating to passengers' intentions to return to Barbados for a stayover vacation. Fifteen percent of respondents indicated they planned to return. Discounting this by a factor of two or three would produce intention estimates of 5% to 10%. If only 5% of the 230,000 cruise-to-stayover candidates decided to visit Barbados on a stayover basis, the island would see an additional 11,500 stayover tourists spending roughly US $13.7 million. 5. Summary The case of Barbados is yet another example in the Caribbean of destinations attempting to shape the benefits from an important segment of the tourism sector to meet destination objectives for contribution to economic, social and heritage/cultural values. For Barbados, this meant focusing on value-added from cruise tourism as well as converting cruise passenger arrivals to stayover markets in the future. Barbados regards the cruise tourism market it enjoys as a very important resource for its country's development. Barbados also sees continuing consultation and partnership efforts with the industry as central to a successful cruise tourism sector. References: ARA Consulting Group, 2007. Barbados Cruise Tourism Strategy. Allaire, L. 2003. The Lesser Antilles Before Columbus. In The Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean. S. Barton, G. T. 2001. The Prehistory of Barbados. Reprinted. Originally published in the Advocate, 1953. Beller, W., P. D'Ayla, and P. Helm (eds.). 2002. Sustainable Development and environmental Management of Small Islands. MAB. Davis: UNESCO/Parthenon. Beckles, H. 1998. A History of Barbados: From Amerindian Settlement to Nation State. New York: Cambridge University Press. Blundell, D. 1997. Archaeology, Cultural Resource Management, and the Pacific: A Look at the East Caribbean Tourism Organization, Caribbean Tourism Statistical Report, 2006-2008 Britton, S. 2002. Tourism in Pacific Island States: Constraints and Opportunities. In Ambiguous Alternatives: Tourism in Small Developing Countries. S. Britton and W. C. Clarke, eds. Suva: University of the South Pacific. Dolman, A. J. 1998. Paradise Lost The Past Performance and Future Prospects of Small Island Howell, B. J. 1999. Weighing the Risks and Rewards of Involvement in Cultural onservation and Heritage Tourism. Human Organization. Lowenthal, D. 2007. The Population of Barbados. Social and Economic Studies. Momsen, J. 2004. Linkages between Tourism and Agriculture: Problems for the Smaller Caribbean Economies. Department of Geography Seminar Paper 45, University of Newcastle. Pariser, H. S. 1999. The Adventure Guide to Barbados. Edison: Hunter Publishing Inc. Schomburgk, R. H. 1998. The History of Barbados (1848). 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