Minister of International Business and International Transport George Hutson has called out tourism’s operators for their over reliance on Government.
And to that end, he wants to see a greater emphasis on developing the South and Central American markets. Hutson made the comments today in response to opposition parliamentarian Ronald Toppin, who charged on Tuesday that the Budget failed to address the major problems faced by tourism.
“We can only put a structure in place but it is for the private sector to get on with the job of investment,” said Hutson in the House of Assembly.
“Too long has the private sector depended on Government for its development. It is also incumbent on the Barbados Tourism Authority to be doing trade missions trying to promote the use of Barbados as a tourism destination for people in South America.”
On Tuesday, Toppin called Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler’s debut Budget “clearly the worst ever”, saying that quite a few tourists may shun Barbados due to the rise of local expenses. The opposition member of parliament went on to say that Sinckler had ignored relief proposals from the tourism sector. But according to Hutson, the sector has fallen short in promoting Barbados to a growing South American market, especially via cruise tourism where the country could benefit more from short stay arrivals.
