In commissioning a Master Plan for the Development of Tourism in Barbados (2014-2023), the Government of Barbados, through its Terms of Reference, indicated that the Plan is to:

1. Provide a physical, environmental and economic plan for the balanced development of all aspects of Barbados' tourism product
2. Ensure the sustainable growth and development of the tourism industry to meet the current needs of Barbadians, visitors, investors and other stakeholders
3. Produce financially viable and environmentally sound tourism projects and programmes for the Barbados tourism sector as a whole, and
4. Provide a balance between economic benefits, Government's national objectives, the interests of private tourism stakeholders and the host population

Central Challenges

What is not apparent from a cursory reading of these objectives is the fact that the sector traditionally referred to as tourism has been Barbados' main foreign exchange earner and most powerful economic driver for many years. It impacts, or has the potential to impact, every other sector.

In this sense, a clearly articulated vision for the tourism sector is essential as it grounds sector policies and strategies in a conceptual framework that may be used to orient critical decisions, plans, projects and activities affecting the country's economic sectors.

The main challenges, in this regard, are to understand where Barbados and Barbadians are now and what they have become in the current, increasingly disruptive, global context. In so doing, this Master Plan materializes the vision for the tourism sector set out in the White Paper.

Government’s Stated Vision for Barbados Tourism

Notwithstanding these central challenges, on January 16, 2012, the Government of Barbados approved the following Vision Statement for the country's tourism industry: "to deliver an unmatched experience that is truly Barbadian, created by warm, welcoming, friendly people, ensuring benefits to the entire nation."

The Master Plan consulting team has carefully studied this statement, exploring various methods for its articulation and expansion in the context of the contemporary opportunities and threats facing Barbados, and the tourism sector in particular. The team remains convinced that the people of Barbados and all stakeholders require a more comprehensive vision that clearly communicates the future direction for the industry in Barbados.

Such a vision would capture a new way of thinking for all involved in what has traditionally been called "tourism", from policymakers and stakeholders to residents and visitors alike.

This is no easy task given the complexities and pervasiveness of traditional tourism to the country's economic, social, environmental, political, and cultural interests. Barbados has no choice but to consider "tourism's" various impacts on the country's overall development plans and programmes.

In this regard, the 2012 White Paper on the Development of Tourism in Barbados further expands on the vision statement for Barbados tourism by stating, in part: "By 2021, the vision is that Barbados will have become a sustainable, competitive, world-class destination with all-year-round tourism, picturesque landscapes, beautiful beaches, pristine waters and protected biodiversity. It will have preserved its heritage, cherished its traditions and proudly showcased them to the world, thus, successfully differentiating its product from the competition. The Barbados Brand will reflect the spirit of the Barbadian people and the memorable and unique experiences they deliver. Barbados would have earned its designation as being an "aspirational" destination, through the alignment of its price point with the high quality of products and services available on the island and lived up to its reputation of being a friendly, safe and clean destination".

Yet, while these statements are a starting point for shaping the future of Barbados' traditional tourism sector, they will likely have to be interpreted with a view to their implications for a more expansive notion of the visitor economy.

Global Context

For the moment, there is no escaping the fact that the first decades of the 21st century are characterized by a level of political, social, cultural and economic disruption not seen on a global scale since the end of the Second World War. Clearly, Barbados in 2013 was quite different from the Barbados shaped in and by the post-colonial, post-Independence movements of the 1960s and early 1970s. The systems built by older generations to govern the affairs of a newly-minted member of the international community are, largely, in ruins.

What is more, the digital technology revolution is transforming the way people live, learn, have fun, do business and effect change in this unpredictable global environment. Simply put, the world is experiencing the demise of its old, antiquated frameworks and the birth of the new. New models require new modalities, new ways of perceiving emerging opportunities and threats, and new ways of addressing them.

Yet, in the face of national, regional and global upheaval, it has become difficult for small island states like Barbados to govern, far less to prosper economically. Part of the reason for the latter is the "middle-income trap", which comes about when the economic growth of a country at that level stagnates due to rising labour costs and declining competitiveness. At that point, unable to compete with more sophisticated economies in areas requiring high levels of innovation, or with low-income, low-wage players in terms of the cheap production of manufactured goods, countries like Barbados find their economic growth stalled. In the case of Barbados, this decline is being felt most acutely in its traditional "tourism" sector.

In this sense, Barbados has clearly failed to make the transition from what the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) calls an "efficiency economy" to an "innovation economy". According to the GCI: The final pillar of competitiveness focuses on technological innovation. Although substantial gains can be obtained by improving institutions, building infrastructure, reducing macroeconomic instability, or improving human capital, all these factors eventually seem to run into diminishing returns. The same is true for the efficiency of the labour, financial, and goods markets. In the long run, standards of living can be largely enhanced by technological innovation. Firms in these countries must design and develop cutting-edge products and processes to maintain a competitive edge. This progression requires an environment that is conducive to innovative activity, supported by both the public and the private sectors.

Institutions do not innovate; confident, enterprising, inspired people do. As such, this Master Plan focuses on people and the ways in which Barbados might unleash their inherent, hidden capacities for creative problem solving and sustainable value generation.

Based on the Consultant Team's findings, therefore, four themes emerge around which Barbados might craft a vision, core objectives, and practical strategies and actions for the development of the Barbados tourism sector. These govern the Master Plan's strategic implementation framework, methodology, work plan, and all project deliverables. Ultimately, they give guidance and strategic focus to each thematic area, project and implementation structure developed as part of this comprehensive Master Plan.

Master Plan Themes

The People are Central

This Master Plan is based on the guiding theme that The People are Central, i.e. an Interactive Community creating sustainable, innovative ways to work together for the benefit of all. Thus, in order to transition from efficiency economy status to a coveted innovation economy ranking, the country must focus efforts, policies, strategies and activities on ensuring people are at the centre of the sector's evolution, and thus the evolution of Barbados.

People flourishing, connecting, creating, learning, growing, serving, innovating, being empowered at every level and in every area: this guiding theme lies at the heart of the Master Plan's desire to grow the Barbados economy. These "people" include not only Barbadians, residents of Barbados, workers, and employers, but visitors, investors, entrepreneurs, clients, members of the Diaspora, Caribbean nationals, online communities, i.e. any individual or group anywhere, anytime with a desire to or purpose for connecting with the Barbados Brand.

Indeed, the Master Plan finds that the process of re-engineering the Barbados tourism sector must include a rethinking and a redefinition of what it means to be a Bajan. The notion of what is and is not Barbadian has, undoubtedly, changed since the country gained its Independence more than 40 years ago. In a far more multicultural society with innumerable outside influences and generations not shaped in the immediate aftermath of colonialism and Independence, many non-nationals consider Barbados their home and have made significant contributions to the development of this nation in various sectors.

It certainly begs the question in relation to the Government's 2012 vision for tourism: what is "an unmatched experience that is truly Barbadian"? This question is at the heart of the Master Plan's guiding theme, The People are Central. That guiding theme shapes every other area outlined in this document, and translates into three additional sub-themes intended to give it life.

These sub-themes include: (1) Sustainability and Change; (2) Innovation; and (3) Networks.

Sustainability and Change

The notions of Sustainability and Change are not in opposition, but are sub-themes that the Barbados tourism sector should adopt to fuel its balanced development during the next ten years and beyond. They suggest continual renewal of Barbados' ecological, social, cultural, economic, infrastructural, institutional, and human capacities in the face of the critical uncertainties driving transformation of the global environment. Sustainability does not simply involve addressing land and resource-use issues, but also the development of structures, processes, mechanisms, and attitudes that are likely to ensure a workable Master Plan. Change requires adaptability. Yet, the mechanisms that enable progressive change must, themselves, be sustainable.

Innovation

One way for Barbados to achieve more balanced development is to engender, nurture and diffuse a spirit of innovation and creative enterprise throughout the national psyche, led by its most important foreign exchange-earning sector. This innovation might encompass creativity in the use of digital technologies, new-media and marketing frameworks, and individual ingenuity to enhance Barbados' tourism product and the Barbados Brand across all sectors and Master Plan subject areas. It certainly should translate into a renewed spirit of resourcefulness built on ideals like value for money, individual responsibility, and genuine national cohesion.

Networks

Barbados is not alone in having failed to respond to the changing technology landscape by refashioning its institutional frameworks and decision-making processes to embrace the "networked society" in which previously disparate sectors are linked to achieve greater efficiency. This is one of the fundamental enablers of an innovation economy.

While Barbados has done myriad Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and other similar studies aimed at introducing a technology component into national development, it continues to implement them in a piecemeal manner that is creating more silos and greater fragmentation than ever before.

This sub-theme is therefore critical in that it focuses on creating and leveraging robust networks that build functioning linkages, connections, or synergies in ways that add value and usher in a more interconnected approach to public and private sector development.

Taken together, these themes have the potential to move Barbados away from a focus on rigid institutional structures to a stronger people-focused approach, to national development that designs solutions Barbadians and visitors actually want rather than solutions policymakers think they should have

Master Plan Principles

The world is changing rapidly. This Master Plan outlines a path for the future growth of the tourism sector that suggests new ways of doing business internally and with the world. In order for it to bear fruit, however, Government, the private sector, and civil society must work in tandem to secure the nation's commitment to the following set of guiding principles, designed to jump-start an internal transformation:

1. Knowledge-Based Development: Promote interventions that are knowledge-based, leading to action and innovation in product development and marketing
2. Action-Oriented Strategic Collaboration: Develop strong, flexible and dynamic partnerships among tourism stakeholders and key decision makers at all levels
3. Excellence in Capacity Building: Enhance coordination and cooperation mechanisms to increase efficiency at all levels
4. Community Engagement: Develop priorities that are nationally focused and community sensitive
5. National Conservation: Develop strategies to foster and encourage sustainable environmental, ecological and institutional practices

The White Paper and the TMP

From November 2010 to January 2011, the Ministry of Tourism convened a series of town hall meetings to facilitate a national dialogue on the policy framework for the development of the tourism industry. All comments were documented in the official report of the town hall meetings and used to inform the preparation of the 2012 White Paper. In the same manner, the White Paper as a policy document was used as the basis for the design of this Master Plan and its recommended strategies and actions.

Summary Policy Statements from the 2012 White Paper

While the 2012 White Paper itself contains more than 250 pages of exacting detail on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing Barbados' traditional tourism sector in a demanding global environment, there are 18 key policy positions outlined in that document that lie at the core of the Master Plan strategies, namely:

• National Tourism Policy: The Government of Barbados shall create an environment that facilitates the country's sustainable tourism growth by addressing human resource development, community development, infrastructure and transportation development, investment promotion, accommodation issues, product development, and marketing.
• National Values: The institutionalization of a national culture of excellence that needs to take root within Barbados will only be possible through a strong foundation of national pride. National pride will be the precursor to a clean, safe, and hospitable Barbados, where professionalism, innovation and efficiency become an ingrained part of the national DNA. Tourism will be developed for Barbadians first with our visitors reaping the spin-off benefits as Barbadians proudly showcase their island to the world.
• Participation and Collaboration: For tourism to be truly sustainable it cannot operate in isolation, rather it has to be effectively and fully integrated into the national development process. Effective synergies can only be established when there is consensus among the key decision makers at the institutional level. To achieve responsible tourism planning and management outcomes, partnerships must be holistic in outlook, based on sustainable development principles and exist at the national and at local levels. The Government, in an effort to provide efficient tourism management, will eliminate the fragmented approach to the management of the tourism product, and provide the organizational structure to support this mandate.
• Marketing and Promotion: Tourism is a global marketplace. Traditional experiences are now duplicated across the globe with new non-traditional market players entering the fray, creating a heightened competitive environment. It is within and because of this paradigm shift that it becomes imperative for Barbados to differentiate itself from its competition, utilising effective marketing tools to promote a consistent and identifiable brand. Consistency will be achieved through coordinated and structured strategies that apply across all geographic locations.
• Community Tourism: An element of a sustainable tourism model requires the critical involvement of communities. The people-centred approach to the development of Government's policy commits Government to involve local communities in the tourism development process. This sustainable development process is specifically designed to promote the diversification of product offering and foster facilitation of effective intersectoral linkages in non-traditional urban and rural areas. The multiplier effect through to the local communities generated by this all-inclusive form of tourism will bolster the impacts of tourism at the economic, social, cultural and environmental level. As a matter of priority, a tourism industry will be developed that is of the people, by the people, and for the people, where Barbadians see themselves reflected in the Barbadian tourism mirror. The aim is the empowerment of local communities.
• Cultural Heritage: Heritage tourism presents enormous potential for differentiating the Barbados Brand from its competitors and complements the development of a sustainable tourism product.
• Culture: Successful cultural heritage tourism strategies must necessarily uncompromisingly showcase the skills and abilities of our people. Government will therefore promote and facilitate the exhibition of the unique art forms of the island.
• Tourism Standards and Regulations: It is imperative that the products and services offered on the island must be commensurate with world class standards. To counteract this development, standards will have to be policed on an ongoing basis to ensure that they are being adhered to in order that a culture of excellence can be created.
• Human Resource Development: In a globally competitive service environment, a sustainable tourism model requires competently trained personnel at each level of the service delivery chain. This emphasis on training and development is especially relevant to the Barbados brand as the expectation for a high-end destination is uncompromising and dependent on exceptional service delivery to provide value for money.
• Infrastructure: The infrastructure for tourism is critically important and wide-ranging. It includes telecommunications, road networks, signage, information centres, convention and conference facilities, etc. Barbados' excellent infrastructure is a source of competitive advantage in the region.
• Information Technology: Government will encourage and facilitate the effective use of the telecommunications infrastructure and technology in the development of sustainable tourism modelling.
• Product Enhancement and Development: The Barbados tourism industry must differentiate itself from the competition through the creation of innovative, creative, high quality product and services which offer unique, engaging and memorable experiences and value for money in a clean, safe and welcoming environment. Special emphasis must also now be placed on the expansion of the island's product offering to showcase everything that the island has to offer. This will call for a revolutionary approach being taken to product and marketing innovation and continuous improvement in order to remain competitive in the increasingly competitive environment.
• Unique Selling Points: The Government will build on the foundation of the core competencies identified from the audits and research and develop unique selling points that are 100% indigenous and specific to Barbados that will differentiate Barbados' product from every other competitor in the world.
• Foreign Investment: The Government of Barbados recognises the importance of attracting foreign investment as an important element to achieve the growth and development objectives of the tourism sector. It further recognizes that systematic and sustained investment in product and infrastructure offerings will be essential over the coming years to improve the quality and standards of the overall tourism product in an increasingly competitive environment. It is therefore essential that a favourable business environment and efficient and well-maintained infrastructure be established and maintained.
• Health Safety and Security: In the face of increased incidences of terrorism, civil unrest, natural disaster, health pandemics around the globe, safety and security has become one of the major concerns of today's travellers and heavily influences their choice of destination. Therefore, successful and sustainable tourism efforts rely indispensably upon the provision of an environment in which guests feel safe and comfortable. Notwithstanding the increasing incidences of crime, harassment and other undesirable behaviours nationally, and specifically against tourists, Barbados has maintained a reputation as a relatively safe and healthy destination. For tourism to survive, this reputation has to be protected at all costs in order to promote an improved environment for the health, safety and security of residents and visitors. The rising incidence of crime and deviance is a national problem that will require a national response involving the assistance and attention of all Barbadians.
• Research and Development: Government realises that contemporaneous and accurate research has to be at the epicenter of tourism development in order to inform effective product development and marketing and promotion strategies. As the global tourism market becomes increasingly competitive, timely, relevant and accurate research and statistics will be critical in maintaining Barbados' competitive edge and increasing market share. In order to drive innovation and develop a more crisis-resilient, strategically focused and competitive destination, a culture of research and development and analytical thinking has to be established across the Barbados tourism industry.
• Youth Development: The development of our youth will be one of the pillars upon which a sustainable tourism industry will be built. Necessarily, youth programmes are a component of training and development initiatives, but given the critical importance of tourism to the national economy, a strategic approach to youth involvement is required. It is imperative that our heritage, history, politics and current affairs are so infused into their knowledge base that they can instinctively and with conviction better interact with and educate tourists. In pursuit of this objective, Government will forge closer ties with the Ministries responsible for Youth, Education, Community Development, Labour and the Environment.
• Transportation: Barbados' geographic location dictates that the inbound tourism market is almost completely dependent on efficient air services delivery. The successful development of the Barbados tourism industry is heavily dependent on reliable and affordable air transportation. The Government is therefore committed to maintaining a policy and regulatory framework that stimulates demand and growth circumscribed by the optimum numbers determined from the carrying capacity audit, while ensuring competitive market access and a sustainable and safe aviation sector.

Critical Success Factors

According to the 2012 White Paper, in order for the country to achieve its vision for tourism, several key conditions must be realised. The White Paper identifies the following Critical Success Factors (CSFs) as the special actions necessary for effective implementation. These have helped to shape the strategies developed for this Master Plan:

• Sustainable Development: Preserve natural, cultural and social assets for future generations through the implementation of a green economy, human resources development, community involvement and economic diversification, by taking a quality as opposed to quantity approach to tourism development.
• Innovation and Competitiveness: Revolutionising the tourism industry through the creation of a strong culture of creativity, productivity, efficiency, quality, excellence, continuous improvement, entrepreneurship and value for money.
• Research and Development: Accurate, timely and relevant data [as] the basis for strategic decision-making, planning, investment, product development and marketing and promotion.
• Awareness and Sensitisation: Enhancing Barbadians' knowledge of the importance of the tourism industry to Barbados' economy and their quality of life.
• Strengthening Core Brand Elements: Ensuring that measures are put in place to secure Barbados' reputation as being a friendly, clean and safe and secure destination.
• Market-Driven Product Development: Product development … aligned with market trends and the demands and expectations of the contemporary traveller.
• Marketing and Promotion: Taking a more strategic, targeted, creative and integrated approach, which is research-driven and aligned with the needs of the customer and the existing product offering and utilising the appropriate distribution channels.
• Strengthen Inter-Sectoral Linkages: Diversifying the Barbados economy by reducing leakages and enhancing linkages, to create a greater multiplier effect of the tourism dollar, spur entrepreneurship and provide a differentiated, authentic experience to visitors.
• Participation and Involvement: Inclusion of stakeholders, especially local communities, at all levels of the tourism development process, including policy formulation and planning.
• Improved Incorporation of Resources: Better incorporation of natural and cultural heritage resources as part of the tourism product whilst ensuring their preservation and conservation.
• Favourable Investment Framework: Creation of a favourable investment-friendly and transparent framework to encourage both foreign and local investment.
• Development of Human Capital: Development of human resources with emphasis on strengthening leadership and innovation capacity, delivering quality and memorable tourism service experiences, whilst filling existing technical and technological skills gaps in the industry.
• Collaboration: Continued but improved efforts at collaboration at the local, sub-regional, regional and international levels to promote sustainability, improve synergies, pool resources and eliminate redundancies and wastage.

Approach to Preparing the Master Plan This Master Plan reflects the results of sectoral consultations as well as the findings of the 2012 White Paper. It is intended to provide the basis for enhanced coordination and collaboration between and within Government, stakeholders, and the people of Barbados. From the outset therefore, the Master Plan consulting team's approach to the deliverables was based on the following assumptions:

• This is a plan for growth
• The priority is to ensure realistic, achievable implementation of all strategies and actions
• The plan identifies, as far as possible, source funds for strategic implementation
• The plan identifies implementation agencies or recommends creation of new ones to support effective execution
• The plan is innovative, sometimes challenging conventional stakeholder wisdom
• The plan is not reticent in contradicting processes the Consultant team believes are likely to hinder or obstruct implementation
• Implementation is not the responsibility of one agency, but must be built on dynamic strategic partnerships and strong collaboration within and between all sectors
• The consultant team worked on the premise that there would be some visible implementation of strategies while the plan is still in preparation

Substantial research was conducted during the course of TMP preparation, including the assessment of surveys such as ongoing visitor exit surveys, a large sample survey of cruise ship passengers completed for the 1998 Barbados Tourism Development Programme, and a more recent cruise passenger survey conducted by the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. Field visits to hotel properties were also conducted, as well as speciality surveys related to other tourism-related subject areas.

Stakeholder consultations were held throughout the Master Plan process and used to validate the strategic approach taken in order to ensure that the Master Plan was developed as a product of the widest possible national input. Consultations were conducted through one-on-one meetings, small group sessions, and a series of workshops held in February and November-December 2012.

Based on these extensive consultations and research, as well as guidance from the TMP Terms of Reference, an organizational structure for the development of the Master Plan was prepared that covers over 30 subject areas relating to the Barbados tourism sector. The information presented in Reports II through VI all contributed to the development of the TMP Implementation Plan that features recommended strategies and actions for the way forward for the Barbados tourism sector, as guided by the overarching theme: "The People are Central".

• Introduction
• Historical & Current Perspectives
• Tourism Outlook
• TMP Vision, Goal and Strategic Imperatives
• TMP Implementation Plan