Barbados appoints businessman Peter Harris as new chairman of tourism | News
Barbados has appointed prominent businessman and former hockey player Peter Harris as chairman of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., as the island recorded a solid 3.3% increase in stay-over tourists by 2025.
Harris, executive chairman of PVH Group Inc., succeeds businesswoman Shelly Williams, who served in the role for four years, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill confirmed in a statement. The appointment is aimed at accelerating tourism growth on the island through increased air transport and deeper penetration of emerging markets.
“The (new) board reflects a range of skills needed to further drive Barbados’ tourism success,” Gooding-Edghill said. “The Board’s primary objective is to implement Barbados’ tourism marketing strategies to ensure consistent brand awareness globally and achieve year-on-year growth in visitor numbers.”
Harris will be supported by Gayle Talma as deputy chair, Sheldene Matthews-Mottley, Andrea Brome, Carol Roberts-Reifer, Ronnie Carrington, Jo-ann Roett, Patrica Affonso-Dass, Kevyn Yearwood, Nicholas Parker, Paul Collymore, Senator Ryan Forde, Cicely Callender and permanent secretary Francine Blackman.
Barbados welcomed 727,310 overnight visitors in 2025, an increase of 3.3% from 2024. The island also welcomed 702,278 cruise passengers, a strong increase of 12.9%.
These achievements contributed to the overall 2.5% growth in stopover arrivals in the Caribbean, which reached an estimated 35 million last year. Barbados posted gains in key source markets, including an increase of 8.1% against the United States and 3.5% against Canada, although European arrivals fell 3.4%.
Harris, a Combermere School alumnus, co-founded CGI Insurance in 1993 and has built the PVH Group into a diversified company with interests in insurance, real estate, tourism, entertainment, media and healthcare. He is known for his business innovations such as roadside assistance programs and remains an active sportsman having represented Barbados in hockey at both junior and senior levels.
Minister Gooding-Edghill emphasized the need to make progress in times of global headwinds. “There is still a significant amount of work to be done to accelerate our tourism growth strategy, especially given the global geopolitical environment,” he said. “Our successful airlift strategy will remain one of the key pillars at the heart of our tourism growth strategy,” he continued, thanking Williams for her tenure.
