Rihanna will be at the centre of a new advertising campaign from Barbados, designed to attract a younger crowd to the Caribbean island.
The Barbados-born singer will be featured in a series of online and print adverts set to be unveiled at the end of November to coincide with Barbados Independence Month, though she released a ‘sneak peek’ of the campaign via Twitter and Instagram which generated more than half a million ‘likes’ and thousands of comments within just a few hours of posting.
Adrian Elcock, chairman of Barbados Tourism Authority, said: “With Rihanna, we have the best opportunity to reach the widest audience, especially that 25 to 44 year-old age group. They can’t be stimulated for a five-day vacation with just sun, sea and sand, so we need to find a way to keep people engaged.
“The whole intention is to demonstrate to our audience that Barbados is a place where you can move around and seek out your own experiences.”
The drive to highlight the island’s attributes beyond its beaches coincides with the launch of 2013 as The Year of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, highlighting Unesco’s recognition of the area as a World Heritage Site, one of just eight such attractions in Caricom countries.
The tourist board also used World Travel Market as a launchpad for its third annual British Airways Football Legends Invitational Tournament, which will see footballing greats from Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City flock to the island from June 7 to 9 to battle it out in a two-day tournament.