ABSTRACT. The study represents an exploratory attempt to capture the underlying reasons for tourists' decisions to visit a destination. The main objective of this study is to examine the specific case of a tourism destination, investigating first whether there are differences between motivations of those who are from different countries traveling to the destination of Barbados. Secondly, the study examines whether there are any differences in the motivations between male and female tourists, and among tourists of different age groups. Thus, it is a comparative study of differences in motives between specific groups. As a result, it attempts to incorporate the experiential view into a construct such as the image of the tourism destination. This article seeks to propose an integrated approach to understand tourist motivations based on origins and how these contribute to the tourists' perception of a destination.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine a typology of competitive strategies, which has not been extensively researched in the context of the accommodation sector in Barbados, a small developing island state in the Caribbean. Design/methodology/approach -Data is collected through self-administered questionnaires from 51 per cent of the hotels in Barbados. Respondents are Human Resource Managers, General Managers or Managing Directors. Findings -Hotels in the five-star and higher category place substantial strategic focus in the area of defining service standards and performance, as compared with hotels in the one-star category. This study suggests that hoteliers should focus on a combination of different strategies advanced by Vandermerwe et al. as a means of securing a competitive advantage. Changes in strategy should be accompanied by training employees as the service and the quality of hotels change. As their customers' demands change, and as the competition changes, the competitive strategies of hotels will change.Research limitations/implications -Due to cultural differences among the islands in the Caribbean, the findings in this study need to be confirmed by undertaking similar investigations in other islands. Future research should consider the use of a more qualitative approach to better understand the nature of these competitive strategies in the hotel sector. Future research should examine the link between these strategies and company performance in order to determine the best combination of competitive strategies needed for maximum organisational performance. Practical implications -This study highlights many challenges to be met and opportunities to be seized by managers in Barbados's accommodation sector. Systematically linking different strategies highlighted by Vandermerwe et al. and proactively managing the hotel is one way to do both. Originality/value -Few studies in this area have been undertaken in small developing island states in the Caribbean. This study attempts to fill this gap by comparing and contrasting the competitive business strategies employed by hotels in Barbados.

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This chapter focuses on market segmentation from a tourism perspective and highlights the importance of taking tourist motivation into account when targeting new markets. It examines different perspectives of stakeholders in order to capture the many factors that affect market segmentation, its relative importance, and the way in which market segmentation affects a tourist destination's ability to successfully attract and retain a new tourism source market. This should help identify the impacts of market segmentation on the success of a tourist destination such as Barbados to attract a new tourist market. The chapter seeks to shed light on how market segmentation fits with the country's commitment to tourism, and in turn how this commitment matches readiness of Barbados's tourism sector to receive Brazilian tourists as a new source market.

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