Top Caribbean and Atlantic Islands Include Barbados
According to the recently published 2022 Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Choice Awards, Barbados is one of the top five Caribbean and Atlantic islands. According to Dr. Jens Thraenhart, chief executive officer of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), the country has more to offer than just sand, sea, and sun. The island was fifth out of the top 20 islands by readers of the award-winning luxury and lifestyle travel magazine, with a score of 87.92.
The category was led by St Barts, followed by Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Bermuda.
“It’s a great honour to be recognised as the only southern Caribbean island in that prestigious list that high up, and also ranking above other Caribbean islands that you may expect further up, but I think it speaks to the fact that Barbados has more to offer than just beaches,” Dr Thraenhart told Barbados TODAY after the award list was released on Tuesday, as the island and its offerings were marketed at the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) 40th Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Puerto Rico.
“We have the Food and Rum Festival now, we have Crop Over, but also … there is culture, there is heritage, you can have a rainforest experience, you could surf on the East Coast, you can have diverse restaurants of all types – from high-end to community and rum shops and all that.
“And I think all of that together is something that travellers are looking for today. They’re looking to connect with communities. They want to have mindful and purposeful trips, and they don’t just want to be at the beach. While the beach is still important – and when we do look at sentiment analysis, Barbados ranks extremely high globally when it comes to beaches – but I think it can’t be just about beaches alone. And I think that survey recognises the fact that Barbados has more to offer than just beaches alone.”
St. Lucia, Jamaica, Nevis, Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, The Bahamas, United States Virgin Islands, Aruba, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Bonaire, Dominican Republic, and Curaçao made up the remaining 15 islands that made up the top 20.
The magazine's readers' favourite travel memories were documented in the 35th annual Readers' Choice Awards.
In this year's awards, Sandy Lane secured a spot among the top resorts in the area, ranking ninth among the top 40 resorts in the Caribbean islands.
Condé Nast described the 112-room resort, which received a score of 97.36, as “something of a Bajan institution”
Source: Barbados Today