Barbados Celebrates International Year of the Reef 2008 with several activities coordinated by the Coastal Zone Management unit

International Year of the Reef 2008

The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) has designated 2008 as International Year of the Reef (IYOR). The objectives of the IYOR 2008 campaign are to:

• Strengthen awareness about ecological, economic, social and cultural value of coral reefs and associated ecosystems
• Improve understanding of the critical threats to reefs and generate both practical and innovative solutions to reduce these threats
• Generate urgent action to develop and implement effective management strategies for conservation and sustainable use of these ecosystems

In celebration of this event, the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU) Barbados, in association with private and public sector organizations, has planned a year of activities which will focus on educating the general public about the critical importance of these vital ecosystems.

January
Opening Ceremony (Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination) - January 9th

February
Love Your Corals Campaign
Art and Science Exhibition - February 25th to March 8th

March
Mini Coral Reef Symposium - March 20th to 22nd

April
The Dance Circle (NCF): Coral Reef Theme - April 29th

May
Schools Film Program by Film Group begins
Fish Dish Competition (Fisheries Division)
Dive Festival (BDO) - May 23rd

June
Ocean Day - June 8th
CZMU Seminar Series - June 27th
Fishers Week - June 22nd to 29th
Fisherman's Day - June 29th

July
Waterworld begins - July 5th

August
Crop Over activities linked with Coral Reef awareness
Dinner and Fashion Show - August 8th

September
Underwater Cleanup - September 20th

October
Bridgetown Film Festival
Ocean Fair Film Series - October 2nd - 23rd
Regional Coral Reef Monitoring and Management Workshop - October 26th to 30th

November
Co-sponsorship with the NCF for awards given to coral-themed works during NIFCA
Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) for Corals Workshop - November 1st to 5th
Book Launch - Barbados: A Coral Paradise - November 20th

December
Closing Ceremony - December 10th


For more information go to http://www.coastal.gov.bb

Atlantis Submarines Barbados - One of the most popular attractions in the 2009 Zagat rating

SEPTEMBER 15th, 2008 -
The results are in and the 1500 persons that participated in the 2009 Zagat on line survey for Barbados have voted Atlantis Submarines as third “Most Popular” in the Sites and Attractions category. At a ceremony held on Saturday Sept 13 2008 at the Fairmont Royal Pavilion all were “waiting to exhale” as the winners were announced. “We are ecstatic to have emerged number three of the 40 sites and attractions included and will continue to work hard to improve our overall rating” says the General manager, Roseanne Myers.

Barbados remains the only Caribbean island with restaurants and attractions that are Zagat rated and it speaks to the dedication to world class standards that the tourism sector has committed to. Atlantis Submarines in Barbados celebrated 21 years in February 2008 and is part of the largest fleet of recreational submarines in the world.

For further information about Atlantis Submarines visit our website www.atlantissubmarines.com or email us at bdsres@atlantissubmarines.com.

Atlantis Barbados and Premier Attractions choose winners from 70,000 entries!!!!

SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2007 -
AQUA RESTAURANT & LOUNGE, CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS - Premier Attractions, an alliance of the most highly recommended attractions in Barbados held the official prize draw for the ‘Win a Return Trip to Barbados’ promotion; witnessed today by an audience of industry partners from the major hotels and tour operator companies, sponsors and press. The winning entries were drawn by Mrs. Susan Springer, the executive vice-president of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association and authenticated by Mr. Kregg Franklin, auditor with Price Waterhouse Coopers.

The promotion offered anyone who purchased Premier Attractions tours - Atlantis Submarines; Bajan Roots & Rhythms; Barbados Golf Club; Harbour Master Cruises; Harrison’s Cave; Island Safari; Jolly Roger Pirate Cruises; Mount Gay Rum Tour & Gift Shop and Tiami Cruises over the last year, the opportunity to enter to win.

Chairman of Premier Attractions Roseanne Myers said, “The response was amazing, with entries from as far flung as Dubai and India. Overall we received approximately 70, 000 entries with 38,000 from the UK & Europe, 28,000 from the USA and the remainder fairly equally divided in the three other source markets - Caribbean, Canada and Barbados. We were exceptionally pleased as well to have the support of fellow sponsors Accra Beach Hotel Resort, Aqua Restaurant & Lounge, Drive-A-Matic Car Rentals, Tanzanite Limousines Co., Air Canada Airways and British Airways to make this all encompassing initiative possible.”

The winning entries were, Phillip Grieme – Arizona USA; Gillian Rollock-Paul – Trinidad; Mr. G. Marshall – Ontario Canada; Jake Lawson – Lancaster England and Debra Walker – Barbados. All winners will be contacted via their provided details and will be emailed and couriered an official prize package with full details on the claiming of their prize. All prize winners have until September 2008 to complete travel.

These five lucky couples will be receiving a fabulous seven day vacation in Barbados consisting of the following:

• Round trip airfare
• Official VIP welcome reception at the airport
• Chauffeured limousine transport to and from the airport compliments Tanzanite Limousine Co.
• Accommodation at Accra Beach Hotel
• A rental car courtesy Drive-A-Matic Car Rentals
• Dinner compliments Aqua Restaurant & Lounge
• PLUS trips on each of the nine attractions in the Premier Attractions brand
• An Atlantis Submarine dive, Bajan Roots & Rhythms dinner show; a round of golf at Barbados Golf Club, a cruise on the Harbour Master, a tour of Harrison’s Cave, an Island Safari jeep tour, a Jolly Roger pirate cruise; a Mount Gay Rum Tour and catamaran cruise with Tiami.

The winner from Barbados will receive the full on-island portion of the package.

Full details will be posted on the Premier Attractions website in due course. The promotion ran for one year from July 2006 to June 2007.

For more information, contact:
Tamara Warner    Tel: 246/426-0182 or e-mail: admin@premierattractions.bb

Sponge Bob welcomes Atlantis Submarines' guests to his world in Barbados!!!

August 9, 2007 The Shallowdraught Bridgetown - Who is even more of an expert on underwater adventures than Atlantis Submarines? Sponge Bob Square Pants of course!!!! Nickelodeon’s Sponge Bob, left “Bikini Bottom” to take a vacation in Barbados and came to greet the fans and escort them off to their tour of the deep blue Caribbean Sea aboard Atlantis Submarine. For those children who are fans (and the adults who will admit to it) Sponge Bob & Friends will perform in Barbados this weekend courtesy of Quality Family Entertainment (An Affiliate of “The Nickelodeon Network”), but took a few moments out to get closer to his natural underwater home.

Due to the popularity of the show, they are few that cannot answer the question, who lives in a pineapple under the sea? We are sure the families that rode out on the boat with Sponge Bob himself sat in the Atlantis submarine half expecting to see Patrick, Mr. Krabs and the rest of the Sponge Bob cast on this extra special tour. Roseanne Myers, General Manager of Atlantis Submarines Barbados remarked, “Although Sponge Bob is a fictional character it has brought a tremendous interest in the underwater world and some of the creatures that live there, but in the most creative way. We were very pleased to co-sponsor the performances here in Barbados, as a family event this summer.”

Atlantis Submarines Barbados celebrated 20 years of operating submarine tours in Barbados in 2007 and is one of Barbados’ most popular attractions. For more information visit our website www.atlantisadventures.com/barbados.cfm

Atlantis Submarines 20th Anniversary in Barbados

The Shallow draught Bridgetown, Barbados, February 15th, 2007 - Atlantis Submarines continued its 20th year anniversary celebrations with an exclusive birthday bash and some very special guests, two twenty year old past school mates who share this special date in history with us and fortuitously a Canadian couple who dove with us 20 years ago.

On February 15th 1987 Atlantis submarines was launched in Barbados and on that day at least two Barbadian mothers were ecstatic about the birth of their first sons. Christopher Yearwood of Thorpe's Main Road, St. James and Jason Hazel of West Terrace Gardens, St. James were born 20 years ago today and consented to participate in this unique way with Atlantis. "We were thrilled to have these fine young men and special ladies celebrate with us. It made our day more meaningful as we look back on the growth of our business over those years" says the General manager Roseanne Myers. " We had a great tour and were fully entertained by scores of fish, a turtle and stingray." Christopher and Jason were accompanied by their moms Angela Yearwood and Val Hazel respectively and joined other guests and staff in the festivities which included an exclusive tour, birthday cake, Atlantis branded gifts and complimentary tickets.

Also joining us on that dive, quite by accident was Arthur and Carol Snook from St. Chrysostome in Quebec Canada. The Snooks had been on Atlantis 20 years ago, and did night tour some years later and were today accompanying friends, the Gumby's from Newfoundland, on what was to be their third tour in 20 years. Having checked in early for a later tour they mentioned that they had been among our early guests and were immediately invited to join the festivities.

Atlantis Submarines, an underwater adventure in a real submarine, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantis Submarines in Vancouver Canada. It is designed to allow the average individual the opportunity to experience the wonders of the underwater world in Barbados and several other islands in the Caribbean, Hawaii and Guam. For further information on Atlantis Barbados call our reservations number at 246 436-8929; 24 hour service at 246 243-1069 or visit http://www.atlantisadventures.com/barbados.cfm