Bridgetown.
Barbados needs to go after the faith-based tourism market more aggressively and use its deep spiritual foundation to cash in on this multi-million dollar industry.
Acting Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Senator Irene Sandiford-Garner, made this observation today during a press conference to announce the hosting of the New Testament Church of God's Caribbean Assembly from November 7-10.
She said faith-based tourism had "snowballed" into a multi-million dollar industry that had transformed the moral fabric of society.
The Acting Tourism Minister said the concept that religious travel being centred on the notion of taking a pilgrimage was no more and, therefore, the market was "much larger and more segmented" with niches ranging from high-end religious travel, volunteer-oriented religious travel to modern-day pilgrimage.
Senator Sandiford-Garner said government had a "great deal" to offer faith-based guests and pledged its support of any initiative that would build up this tourism niche.
"We are very well suited for this type of tourism. We have the infrastructure, the physical amenities…We have some of the most historic churches [to be found] in the region that are located in Historic Bridgetown; we have all denominations and we also have the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere as well as the St. Michael's Cathedral," stressed Senator Sandiford-Garner.
She further stated: "More importantly, we have some of the most beautiful beaches for baptism. So, when you think about all of these things coupled together, I don't think that you can have a better location for the activity that you plan to have here."
You must be logged in to post a comment.