I have long argued, seemingly against the odds, that we need far better research and analysis of tourism if we are ever going to maximize its true potential – not just for the obvious economic contribution but also to maximize the social and nation-building benefits.
The risks of not adopting this policy, which would normally be considered an imperative in the commercial world of reality, are clear to see.
Second-guessing cannot be the most cost-effective way of spending limited budgets on marketing or any other element of promotional activity.
And if the question has to be asked, what are any misconceptions or poor industry data evaluations really costing us?
Let’s look at our largest single market as an example. Back in 1999, the founder of low-cost carrier EasyJet, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, predicted the demise of Europe’s charter airlines, the inhouse carriers of big holiday companies.
He turned out to be at least partially right. According to the British Civil Aviation Authority, the number of British leisure travellers has more than doubled since 1995; low-cost airlines have accounted for the entire increase, with charter carriers seeing lower passenger numbers.
Barbados has lost virtually all its budget airlines out of Britain, so this may at least partially explain why we have not experienced anything like the growth of other major tourism destinations.
Some charter companies have reinvented themselves. Monarch now flies 80 per cent of its flights as scheduled services, and contracts the majority of seats to tour operators.
For Barbados, it would seem there is a catch-22 situation. We clearly need legacy carriers like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. But there can be no doubting currently with historically the highest ever airfares out of Britain, a substantial proportion of our tourism sector is suffering as a result of the absence of charter-priced seats.
This also negatively affects visiting friends and relatives, second-home owners and independent travellers.
So what are the options? Targeted charters from airports other than Gatwick and Manchester?
London’s third airport, Stansted, unquestionably offers the greatest opportunity with an unparalleled European feeder network of predominantly low-cost carriers.
I understand talks have already taken place about direct flights from Scotland, but here the choice is limited, as one of the three main airports is currently unable to handle B777 or B747 aircraft.
As I round off my three weeks in England, Britain continues to be a challenging market for us. While our Caribbean neighbours parade full-colour half-page cooperative advertisements in major publications, including the Sunday Times travel supplement, Barbados has very limited visibility.
Having just paid nearly £700 (BDS$2 237) for a return economy ticket, where sleep during almost the entire eight hours was virtually impossible due to dozens of screaming children, it seems incredible that after all this time, airlines have not designated quiet areas.
In the westbound direction, bargain hunters can still snap up seven nights all-inclusive at Almond Beach Village for £895 (BDS$2 860) or bed and breakfast at Coconut Court for £699 (BDS$2 234), flights and transfers included.
Exactly how low we can go to fill those empty beds is another story and that’s perhaps where we have to remind ourselves that discounting is not the same as marketing!
