VETERAN ‘WATERMAN’, Brian Talma, and accomplished surfer, Chelsea Tuach are now official sports tourism ambassadors for Barbados.
In a press briefing at the offices of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), senior director, support services, Neville Boxill, commended both Tuach and Talma on their exploits and efforts to date in the surfing arena. These appearances and world-class performances around the globe, he acknowledged, continue to raise the profile of the Barbados across the world as a premier sports tourism destination.
He also expressed the BTMI’s commitment to helping them to go even further through collaborative tourism marketing activities during events and shows around the world, and through traditional and digital media.
“One of the methodologies the BTMI has been using, in order to push Barbados to broaden awareness for our product globally and to increase our exposure, has been to partner with icons, with top Barbadian sportspersons, in order to reach out to their following and to increase our exposure. It gives us extreme pleasure today to announce that we have entered into a sponsorship and ambassadorial programme, starting with Brian and Chelsea.”
Barbados is long etched into the hearts of some of the sport’s biggest names, such as Kelly Slater, Josh Stone and Mick Fanning. Certainly, Brian and Chelsea have played a tremendous role in sustaining the island’s strong reputation as a surfer’s paradise.
The ambassadorship will be for one year in the first instance for both Tuach and Talma but the BTMI executive expressed an interest in making it an ongoing relationship. The partnership will include authorized use of branded materials during photo ops and other appearances, use of their image on promotional material, digital content creation and appearances at notable local and international events.
Talma, affectionately known as ‘deAction man’, has worked tirelessly for many years to realize his vision to make Barbados a haven for the international surfing fraternity. Already, he has several strong European ties and expressed his enthusiasm about the new partnership.
“I’m ecstatic. Europe is my biggest market. I do windsurf, kite surf, paddle surf and surfing and these sports are really strong especially in Germany, France [and] Italy… Everyone knows I’m from Barbados but now with the branding and working with their offices around the world you get more impact so from my side this is a very exciting time for me.”
The partnership will also extend to local events such as Brian’s Waterman Festival.
Despite her youth, Chelsea Tuach is by no means new to surfing and is well respected among her peers as a fierce competitor on the World Surf League Series Tour. Chelsea attributes her radical, fluid style to growing up surfing the popular Soup Bowl break and ensures that all of her performances are streamed allowing her to reach millions around the world.
Her campaign on the WSL Qualification Series Tour has been quite successful, as she has effectively become the first Caribbean surfer to qualify for the Samsung Galaxy World Championship Tour in just two years. In 2014, she had a top 24 finish and ended fourth in the rankings last year after a win in Spain, two semi-final finishes in China and Australia and a quarter-final finish in California.
“I am excited to team up with the BTMI to further promote Barbados as an incredible surfing and holiday destination. I am known around the world as the ‘Barbados’ surfer girl and people are always asking me about Soup Bowl and the surf in Barbados. I have surfed the most incredible breaks all over the world but I tell them that Soup Bowl is my absolute favorite place in the world and it has molded me into the surfer I am today!” Chelsea noted.
Chelsea is currently ranked top 13 on the WSL World Qualification Series and the top 16 on the WSL World Championship Tour.
With celebrations for Barbados’ most popular sports celebrity, Sir Garfield Sobers, in full swing, the important role of sports tourism in taking Barbados to an international audience, as well as securing more visitors to the island, is currently very relevant.
Business Development Officer – Sports, of the BTMI Devon Chase expressed his full support for this new ambassador programme.
“Chelsea and Brian will make great ambassadors for Barbados – Chelsea, as a trail-blazer, an incredible athlete and an outstanding role model for our youth and Brian with his extensive experience, undeniable passion and infectious personality,” said Chase. “The BTMI is happy to partner with Chelsea and Brian to increase the island’s exposure on the world surfing stage,” he added.
The BTMI executives also hinted that there are other sporting niches that have clear tourism synergies, which they are keen to explore. It is expected that more sports ambassadors will therefore be announced in the not-too-distant future. (PR)