Barbados means business!
The island has been accommodating business travellers for years with the efficiency and excellence that is our trademark. The island is possessed of high quality physical infrastructure and superb business support services, which have earned Barbados a justly deserved reputation as a place where you can work as hard as you play.
Combined with warm year-round weather, gorgeous scenery and a wide array of entertainment activities, it is small wonder that the international business community is increasingly making Barbados their choice for conferences, seminars and meetings. Read on to find out how Barbados makes business travel a breeze.
WHO…can help you?
It is often said that a nation’s most valuable resource is its people. This is amply true in Barbados, which has little in the way of natural resources, but makes up for it with a highly educated workforce. A literacy rate of 99% and free education up to tertiary level has given Barbados a well-skilled workforce that lives up to the national motto of “pride and industry” and makes the island highly attractive for doing business.
There is no shortage of companies offering exceptional legal, accounting, event management and other professional services catering to the needs of the business traveller, even at short notice.WHAT… you can expect
The United Nations ranks Barbados within the top 40 countries in the world for quality of living and with good reason. The quality of services and infrastructure you will find in Barbados are on par with that of developed countries anywhere in the world. The island has a very reliable electricity supply (110 volts), a pure and regular water supply, a well-developed road network that covers the entire island and excellent telecommunications services.
This is facilitated by the fact that Barbados has one of the most stable and peaceful democracies in the world and a stable currency pegged at BD$2 to US$1.
Besides the comfort of reliable utilities and a stable economic environment, there are several agencies and associations in Barbados that offer advice and support to the business community. These include the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation, the Barbados International Business Association, the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association.
WHERE…can you meet?
No matter what kind of business function you are planning, Barbados has the facilities for it. The island is equipped with conference and meeting facilities that can accommodate nearly any kind of event, from a corporate retreat to large trade shows and conferences.
The island’s leading conference facility is the government-owned Sherbourne Conference Centre in Two Mile Hill, St. Michael which has played host to former U.S. President Bill Clinton, global conferences for the United Nations and many regional and local events. It is ideally placed, located along one of the island’s main highways, close to the airport and the capital city of Bridgetown and just a stone’s throw away from the Prime Minister’s official residence, Ilaro Court. It has fully equipped meeting rooms of varying sizes that can hold anywhere from 200 to 1000 people and also has its own in-house event planning agency.
Another large meeting facility is the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, a multi-purpose facility that can hold as many as 4000 for conferences, trade shows, concerts or sporting events.
Several hotels on the island have smaller meeting and conference facilities conveniently located within their complex, making it easier if you want to cut out the commute and do business close to your accommodation.
These include the Hilton Barbados, which has a ballroom that can accommodate 570 people, Accra Beach Hotel (280), Amaryllis Beach Resort (200), Barbados Beach Club (125), Royal Pavilion (100) and Discovery Bay Hotel (100).
They will deal with the logistics of your event, including sourcing equipment and providing a liaison and staff to assist in set up and execution of the event. Many also offer special group rates for business travellers coming for conventions and conferences.
HOW… can you get in and around?
Getting to Barbados is absolutely no problem. The island’s recently refurbished and expanded international airport, Grantley Adams International Airport, is well served by daily flights from some of the world’s major cities, including London, New York, Miami and Toronto. Due to this, it actually serves as a hub to the rest of the Eastern Caribbean and also has daily flights to all of the islands in the English-speaking Caribbean.