by Shamar Blunt
The first winter season flight from the German city, Frankfurt, touched down here just after 5 p.m. on Monday, as tourism officials welcomed the inaugural service from German airline, Eurowings Discover.
Senior Business Development Officer from the European office of Eurowings Discover, Debbie Moe, who also came in on the flight, told reporters that despite hesitancy among some travellers because of the pandemic, the reviews so far for the inaugural trip have been great, as the German company continues its marketing push to bring visitors to the region.
Moe said: “We continue to market quite strong because we of course know we still need to have a presence in the market. The truth is the German market has changed a bit and persons who were booking previously maybe six months in advance, they are now booking quite shorter, six weeks maybe even four weeks or two weeks before they fly.
“This is quite a good advantage for us because persons are still looking to travel, they are looking to get away from the grey skies. Flying on the aircraft today before I started a movie or started listening to music, there is a wonderful Barbados ad on the Eurowings Discover airline as well promoting the destination.”
Among the 105 travellers who came in on the flight are eight who are part of a press group that intends to explore what the island has to offer and report their experiences to clients back home.
Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany to Barbados, Andreas Kusay, was also part of the welcoming committee.
“I am glad to be here to see the first flight arriving from Frankfurt after such a long time,” said Kusay.
“I was here last year in March and April helping to take the Germans tourists and nationals from other European countries back to Germany when everything was closed.
“It’s quite an emotional moment to see the plane arriving again from Frankfurt, and I hope it will stay for a long time, and we all stick together to solve COVID-19 ‘til we get back our normal lives.”
Eurowings Discover will be making three flights per week, and will continue until April 23, with flights from Frankfurt leaving around 1:30 in the afternoon to Barbados. (SB)
