This paper presents a framework for the formulation of a sport tourism event policy for the island of Barbados. Although some research has been conducted on the residents’ perceptions of major sporting events including the Olympic Games, smaller but globally significant events such as the Golf World Cup have received little attention from researchers. Less attention has been given to sport events in the Caribbean. This dearth in knowledge has inspired the direction of this study, which is, to explore the stakeholder perceptions of the Golf World Cup which was hosted in Barbados in December 2006. The data collection process adopted included semi-structured interviews with the Barbados tourism private sector.

The 65 participants in this study highlighted a diversity of mainly congruent views. Private sector participants contend that the Golf World Cup was socially exclusive and perpetuated social divisions rather than ameliorated them. Many stakeholders felt that the event was culturally alienating and highlighted the failure of the organisers to undertake stakeholder consultations.

The findings in this study can make a worthwhile contribution to the marketing, management and design of future events and the direction of policy formulation for sport events on the island of Barbados and the wider Caribbean.