Shop around for deal to beat Barbados blues (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Shop around for deal to beat Barbados blues

1:50pm Monday 14th June 2010 in Holiday News

Even before the guns blazed in Jamaica, the Caribbean was bracing itself for a drop in the number of British visitors this summer – not least because the dollar strengthening against the pound could hit the Brits’ spending power.

Says Steve Garley: “It doesn’t take a genius to look at prices in August and realise they are a bit too high. But the tourist authorities recognise the problem and want to find a solution.”

He also believes business has been hit by the cutback in flights from the UK in the past 18 months; although there are ten BA flights to Barbados each week, four go on to other islands, and Virgin has dropped the equivalent of a Jumbo jet per week out of its schedules to the region.

So Tropical Sky, Steve’s fast-growing online operator, got the backing of the Barbados Tourism Authority to fix a series of charter flights from Gatwick with Monarch Airlines departing each Friday on July 23 and 30, August 6 and 13.

It means seven-night room-only packages in Discovery Bay by rex resorts from £799, saving £237, and 14 nights from £999, saving £351. Upgrading to all-inclusives costs £200 per week per person.

Steve says: “We won’t be beaten by volcanic ash and certainly not by BA strikes.

“With these amazing offers, families needn’t take the kids out of school to get a summer holiday bargain. But these offers won’t be around for too long.”

Tropical Sky also has ‘adults-only’ packages in some hotels which, says Steve, may appeal to teachers seeking peace and quiet away from the classroom.

They include seven-night all-inclusives in Almond Beach Club from £1,099, saving £483 – with an excellent choice of dining options, three interconnecting pools and spa and a range of non-motorised watersports.

British Airways Holidays is extending its sale of summer Caribbean deals to June 30; it includes seven nights’ B&B at Butterfly Beach, Barbados, from £499, on departures until June 24 and September 6 to 30, and seven nights’ room-only at three-star Bay Gardens in St Lucia, also from £499, on departures September 15 to October 10.

BA also offers seven nights’ room-only at the five-star St Kitts Marriott Resort from £699 on departures June 20 to 27 and September 7 to October 9.

Caribtours has a summer sale on some of its upmarket resorts: seven nights’ B&B at Sandy Lane, Barbados, might not sound a giveaway at £2,519, but it is actually saving £760, with under-18s from £1,818.

• INFORMATION: Tropical Sky (0870 9079600 and tropicalski.co.uk); British Airways Holidays (0844 4930758 and ba.com/caribbean); Caribtours (0207 7510660 and caribtours.co.uk).