The island of Barbados has surpassed destinations such as the Seychelles as the first destination to satisfy its visitors, according to the Destination Satisfaction Index (DSI) of 2017, one of the most important references to world tourism.
Throughout the year, more than 70,000 tourists were interviewed around the world, giving their opinions in 20 categories, including Beaches, Lodging, Gastronomy and Shopping. Barbados had the highest score in the world, 8.8 / 10 out of 144 countries included. Destiny also ranked first in the accommodation category, and the best in the Americas region, surpassing Bermuda and the Bahamas.
When asked what the premium meant for Barbados, William ‘Billy’ Griffith, CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), has shared plans to take advantage of the destination communications and marketing award next year. “For us, it will be a great advantage because, with our marketing and advertising efforts, we extend this message to tourists in priority and growing destinations, such as the United States and Latin America.” Our goal is to publicize the attributes of Barbados as its connectivity, which now includes a new partnership with Copa Airlines with a direct flight from Panama, accommodation for all types of pockets, natural beauty and gastronomic quality.
Tourists are more satisfied with Barbados
The DSI, created by European companies Norstat and dp2research, to measure the overall assessment of a holiday destination based on factors that travelers find most appealing. The online survey was conducted in 24 markets and the 70,000 interviews resulted in 1.4 million direct responses from tourists who assigned scores in each category.
Emphasizing the value of visitors’ comments, Griffith added, “The important thing is that this recognition was derived from the opinion of the customer and this really drives our work by validating and endorsing Barbados as a complete destination for world travelers.”
The best accommodations in the world
In addition to the overall overall award, Barbados also led the hosting category with a score of 8.8 / 10 ahead of Bermuda, who finished second, and the Maldives third.
The hotel offer of Barbados is constantly changing. In 2017, 43 hotel renovations were made including Fairmont Royal Pavilion, Sea Breeze Beach Hotel and Elegant Hotels’ Treasure Beach and The House. New properties such as Sandals Royal have also opened their doors, and the international chain has already announced plans for a third hotel on one of the island’s famous beaches, scheduled for construction in September 2018.
The DSI Accommodation Award also gathers the performance of Barbados at the highly regarded Travelers’ Choice Awards. Recently, the destination has won 13 Travelers’ Choice Awards for the Caribbean region through a wide range of categories: luxury, all inclusive, best service, best offer and romance.
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