Caribbean Island

Barbuda is launching its first ever tourism marketing campaign to convince you to visit the tiny island – pop 1500 – next to sister island, Antigua. “Barbuda is an island of unsurpassed natural beauty,” an official said in a webinar today. Re-emerging from the devastation after Hurricane Irma in 2017, Barbuda is working hard to recover by going totally green from power production to the protection of wild spaces and species such as the national animal, the Hawksbill Turtle. Their renewable energy project will be the largest of its kind in the Caribbean. “Barbuda has the most beautiful beaches in the world,” said Mohammid Walbrook (pictured here), the top Barbudan photographer who captures places and people on the island every day. He’s excited about the new campaign because, “For the first time, a Barbudan is doing the actual photography.” The Magnificent Frigate Bird Sanctuary has overtaken the island’s beaches as the main attraction. So far this year 850 tourists have visited the sanctuary, up significantly from last year, a sustainable level. To entice visitation, they’re running a contest–anyone with Barbuda heritage can win a couple of tickets to the island by taking a selfie and hashtagging it Beautiful Barbuda. Their cheeky, new campaign slogan is, “We have one ferry, two flights and ten taxis. We’d like you to come, but please, not all at once.” With fewer than 100 rooms, they aren’t kidding.