BARBADOS, which this year has seen a more than six per cent decline in tourist arrivals from its top market, England, is likely to continue to suffer as Britons are flocking to sunnier climes to escape not only the seasonal climes, but a snow-bound country.
Heavy snowfall, popularly dubbed, the ‘big freeze’ continued yesterday to shutdown most of the United Kingdom, including closing its two top airports,?Gatwick and Heathrow.
And forecasters warned that the severe conditions were likely to last for the rest of the week, with rain and sleet adding to the misery in some places.
“Planes [scheduld to come] in from Gatwick (Virgin Atlantic and British Airways) didn’t come in, and those people here who had to leave didn’t leave,” executive vice-president of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA),?Sue Springer told the DAILY?NATION, “but we are hoping that Gatwick will be reopened by tomorrow (today).”
Gatwick Airport was forced to close at 10:30 p.m. last Tuesday and remained shut yesterday, causing misery for hundreds of travellers hoping to escape from the earliest big freeze seen in the UK for years.
Airport spokeswoman Sarah Baranowski said ground staff worked throughout the night but had not been able to clear the settling snow.
Keith Goddard, corporate communications specialist at the Grantley?Adams International?Airport (GAIA), said given the snow in London, two flights – BA2154 and VS29 (Virgin Atlantic) – to Barbados, were cancelled.
“We had indicated to passengers what the situation was through the media and the BHTA,” he added.
While Goddard said there were no large crowds at GAIA seeking to leave for the UK, he could not give a number for those who were not able to make it to Barbados or leave the island.
Last Tuesday,?Ralph?Taylor, chairman of the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA), reported that long-stay visitors from England declined by 6.6 per cent falling from 156 316 to 145 961.
Online travel industry newsletter, Breaking?Travel?News (BTN), reported yesterday it seemed that the threat of snow was enough to make Britons dig a little deeper and escape to typically long-haul summer locations.
It noted that winter sun holidays were up year on year and industry experts were returning huge results for the period leading into the New Year.
“With Barbados holidays up 100 per cent year-on-year, lowcostholidays.com (a six-year-old British online booking agency) has seen its holiday makers head to more tropical climates such as Jamaica which is up 66 per cent year-on-year, with its average December temperatures of 26 °C,” BTN said.
“More typically associated with summer family trips, holidays in Florida are now a go-to for winter retreats. However, in an increasingly price-sensitive market where value for money is coupled with the sense of ‘getting away from it all’, perhaps this is a sign of things to come.”
Matt Hall, head of product at lowcostholidays.com said: “The interest in winter sun destinations is indicative of trends showing that consumers are saving more for the things they really want.
“In turn, airlines and resorts are increasingly under pressure to secure packages that can provide the truly exotic with the benefit of highly competitive prices”.
