ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY

▪  UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue collaborate with Virgin Holidays to
   encourage Brits to 'come back' to the Caribbean after the impact of Hurricane Irma.
▪  The partnership sees the legends of British reggae release a new music video using their
    top ten hit "Come Back Darling" and its timely lyrical message.
▪   It was filmed on location in Antigua, and culminates with a performance filmed at Pineapple
    Beach Club.

Featured in ITV Sunrise TV this morning and will be featured on ITV tonight and in todays papers - the Sun, Telegraph, Evening Standard and the Independent

UB40, featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue, filmed a new music video for their Greatest Album hit Come Back Darling in a bid to reassure Brits that the region is ready for tourists to 'come back' following a concerted recovery effort.
 
Virgin Holidays Managing Director, Joe Thompson, said: "Virgin Holidays works incredibly closely with tourism authorities across the region and want to put the Caribbean back on people's radar for their 2018 holiday.  The islands are as stunning as ever and the misconception that the whole region has been devastated needs to be addressed.  Both Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic are committed to supporting the Caribbean, and one of the best ways we can demonstrate that commitment is through strengthening our flying programme to the region.  We are sending more tourists than ever before with two additional flights per week from London Heathrow to Barbados, which started on December 12th."
 
Ali Campbell, UB40 frontman, commented:  "Our music is inspired by the beautiful Caribbean islands and, of course, it has always been close to our hearts.  Putting a whole new meaning to the lyrics of 'Come Back Darling' has been a brilliant experience - and we hope it lands the message amongst the Great British public that Caribbean locals really do want them to 'come back'. "
 
Henry Charles Fernandez, the Minister for Tourism for Antigua and Barbuda, added:  "As always, we're proud to showcase our beautiful corner of the world and have one simple message for the British public - 'Come Back, Darling'.  We would like to thank UB40 for visiting Antigua, and we look forward to welcoming more UK visitors in 2018."
 
Paula Whitehead, European Managing Director of Elite Island Resorts, said:  "Our four resorts in Antigua are a favourite holiday choice for tens of thousands of British travellers each year.  Three of our biggest resorts were thankfully unaffected, and after some impact at our fourth resort Galley Bay, we are very excited to be re-opening on 23 December bigger and better than ever before.  We're thankful for all the support and partnership from Virgin Holidays, and trust us when we say it was one brilliant gig at Pineapple Beach Club."
 
Almost all of the properties and attractions featured by Virgin Holidays have since re-opened following the hurricane.
Antigua was not badly impacted with the airport opening the next day and all but one hotel open.
www.AntiguaBarbudaTourism.org