Hardly a private sector tourism meeting today seems to take place where the subject of increased operational costs is not raised and I wonder if our Government is doing all it can to help keep our industry competitive.
Having just returned from three weeks in Britain, it gave me the opportunity to gauge the visibility of Barbados and its perceived competitiveness in our single largest source market.
One small example was walking into a major chain store and being able to purchase low-energy light bulbs for ten and 18 pence, or about BDS$0.30 to $0.54. Some unheard-of brand, you might think, but no – the 20-watt (output 100W) is made by Philips, one of the largest electronics firms in the world, and the eight-watt (output 40W) by Osram, the second-biggest lighting maker on the planet.
Whoever subsidizes the bulbs clearly sees it in the national interest to entice or persuade electricity users to replace energy-gulping incandescent bulbs with more fuel-efficient alternatives.
Perhaps it should not just be left to our Government which clearly is faced with the dilemma of tax collection. Higher electricity bills mean more VAT revenue even when already confronted with economic challenges.
Maybe with Barbados Light & Power Co.’s new economy of scale it could be a joint initiative with its majority Canadian owner. As the majority of these bulbs are made in the People’s Republic of China, perhaps the newly opened Embassy in Beijing and improved trade relations can help.
I cannot recall just how many times I have brought up the subject of removing VAT and any other import duties on energy-saving devices in every forum there has been an opportunity.
Overall it has to be the sensible thing to do, at least until vast oil or gas fields are found off our shores or our God-given winds are used.
Changing the topic, I had a response to my column on June 6, pointing out that some of the points on which I raised concern were being addressed “in due course”.
I really don’t want to criticize the writer of the comments because I sincerely believe that he has contributed a great deal in raising the profile of Barbados through several sporting events.
But the proviso “in due course” cast worrying doubts about the way we actually do business and whether this area should be monitored to see that we get the very best return for the taxpayers’ “investment”. It should not be solely left to the private sector to constantly remind its public sector partners that tourism is a dynamic industry.
Viable opportunities have to be seized and acted upon to garner the most cost-effective results in a timely manner.
Too little, too late is a phrase that is frequently heard within this industry and I believe “we” are paying the price for any complacency.