The annual Barbados Jazz Festival, sponsored by Air Jamaica, was launched Thursday at the Jamaica Pegasus.
This, the eleventh in the series, is scheduled from January 12 to 18, 2004, and will run the jazz gamut from blues to bluegrass, scat to classical, with performances by India.Arie, Herbie Hancock, Kirk Whalum, Joe Sample, Hiroshima, Michael Cheeseman, Poncho Sanchez, Lizz Wright, Errol Bradshaw, Kal David, Adrian “Boo” Husbands, Richard Bona, Kem, The Jazz Project among others.

Jamaicans are expected to be present in large number at the event.
The Barbados Tourism Authority`s (BTA) brag list has Jamaicans leading the charge as the fastest growing number of Caribbean visitors to the Eastern Caribbean island.

“Jamaicans are the third highest after the UK and the USA,” said Stacy Hutchinson, business development manager for the Caribbean and Latin America of the BTA, at Thursday night`s launch of the Jazz Festival.
She added that through radio promotions like the “Follow me to Barbados for Jazz” campaign and the special accommodations package for Caribbean visitors, she hoped that the 23.6 per cent increase between January to September of this year will be the beginning of a growth trend.
Not to be outdone, Air Jamaica, the primary sponsor of the Barbados Jazz Festival, boasts the position of the most efficient carrier for the Caribbean region by offering airfares as low as US$418 for five days and four nights, during the festival.
Marcia McDonnough, regional sales manager for the airline, congratulated the BTA for their recent World Travel Award as “Best Tourism Destination in the Caribbean” and highlighted the need for increased interregional travel.
Season tickets are being offered at a cost of US$160 excluding the dinner set at the Colony Club Hotel, which will cost US$100. Individual tickets are US$25 to US$40 per night.
Related stories on Caribbean Weekly:
(25/09/03) Barbados proud to host CMEx

(29/09/03) Royal Opening for Barbados Pavilion

(18/10/03) Barbados reap rewards at 10th annual World Travel Awards

(16/09/03) Air Jamaica appoints Michael Going as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales & Marketing

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