With a new nonstop flight to Barbados, Atlantans should come to the eastern Caribbean island to experience the sun, sea and sand, government officials said during a launch party for the new Delta Air Lines route Friday.
But beaches shouldn’t distract them from business, they added.
Consul General Rudy Grant, visiting from his post in Miami, said he saw while serving as former CEO of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association during COVID-19 the way that people missed on out in-person business opportunities/
And the pandemic underscored why Barbados has begun to diversify its economy, he said.
“I reference that only to tell you that when it comes to engaging in business and engaging in investment, people want to do it face to face,” Mr. Grant said. “People want to be able to relax and be able to socialize. And therefore, while there’s this very important tourism component with respect to Delta and the flight going out to Barbados, the investment opportunity, the trade opportunity and the opportunity to engage in commercial diplomacy is also extremely important.”
That was a point Mr. Grant underscored during a Consular Conversations luncheon earlier this year at Miller & Martin in Atlanta.
It’s also shared by other leaders from the island, including Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.’s Angela Franklin, who outlined the island’s key tourism dates and recent culinary recognition but also noted opportunities beyond the beach.
At a similar event earlier this year, Tourism and Transport Minister Ian Gooding-Edghill noted that marketing the island was making a material impact back home — GDP growth in the first quarter of 2024 was 4 percent.
The minister returned for Friday’s event at the Intercontinental Buckhead and Saturday’s launch of the nonstop flight, for which he cut a ceremonial ribbon.
“This is a major hub right here in Atlanta, and I know this flight will do well,” he said at the ribbon-cutting.
Delta Air Lines Inc.’s Athar Khan, head of international specialty sales, said Friday evening that the flight represents a commitment to the island, to which Delta is returning from Atlanta with a 737-800 about a decade after it pulled out a twice-weekly flight.
“This new route isn’t just about connecting the two cities. It’s about strengthening the bond between the dynamic, bustling city of Atlanta and the serene, sun-kissed paradise of Barbados,” Mr. Khan said. “We’re excited to offer our customers a seamless and convenient way to explore everything that makes Barbados when the most start after destinations in the Caribbean.”
He added that on Dec. 21, Delta will add a weekly nonstop flight from New York to Barbados.
Members of the travel and tourism trade made up the bulk of the launch event’s attendees, but audience members told Global Atlanta they were looking to explore business opportunities now in reach with the new air service, which Mr. Grant called the “lifeblood of Caribbean tourism.”
Many Atlantans see such links as a prerequisite for doing business in a given international locale.
“Before, I would have to go to New York or Miami to get to Barbados, so I’m very happy to have a direct flight. For me, it’s going home, but it’s also a really good escape,” actress and film producer Jacqueline King-Howell told the Atlanta Voice newspaper in its report.
Invest Barbados (disclosure: an annual partner of Global Atlanta) sees that dynamic at work as it recruits business from here.
“There’s nothing better than a direct flight,” CEO Kaye Greenidge said of the launch in a Global Atlanta sponsored video and article. “I’m certain businesspersons will appreciate being able to leave Georgia, come to Barbados directly, conduct their business and then return the next day. Or, spend some time and be a tourist in Barbados.”
The event took place on a cold evening that sat between two Barbadian community events: the United Barbadians in Georgia, or UBIG, independence gala Nov. 17, as well as Barbadian Association of Georgia‘s evening of elegance Nov. 23.
