Christ Church
Christ Church serves as Barbados' tourism gateway: home to the sole international airport and south coast hotel district that transformed fishing villages into entertainment destinations.
Christ Church functions as Barbados' tourism engine and gateway. The parish hosts Grantley Adams International Airport—the island's sole air connection to the world—along with the south coast's concentration of hotels, restaurants, and nightlife centered on St. Lawrence Gap. Dover Beach, Accra Beach, and the weekly Oistins Friday Night Fish Fry have become iconic attractions that define Barbadian tourism.
The parish exemplifies how tourism dependency reshapes coastal geography. Former fishing villages transformed into entertainment districts; beaches that once supported subsistence fishing now host water sports operations. Oistins, historically a fishing town, preserved its identity by commercializing tradition—the fish fry attracts tourists precisely because it appears authentic, creating a feedback loop where economic success depends on performing cultural continuity.