Long stay arrivals are still down. Cruise ship arrivals too.And now, tourist attractions in Barbados are shrinking in the face of the current economic recession.
To make it worse, the markets which have been bread and butter for Barbados are down as well.
Barbados’ winter tourist season results are already sending a shiver down the spine of the tourism sector.
Early numbers released by the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) today show that overall arrivals are down by more than eight per cent, when compared to the same time period (December 2011- March 2012) last season.
Executive Vice President of the BHTA, Sue Springer, made the disappointing revelation about the country’s continued dip in tourist arrivals, whilst providing her interim quarterly report at the association’s first quarterly meeting for 2013, held yesterday at the Accra Beach Hotel, Christ Church.
But according to Springer and Avril Byer, Acting Senior Vice President of the Barbados Tourism Authority, things should start to look up later this year.
“I already have hoteliers who have informed they are fully booked for this Christmas, so that is a good sign, and shows that visitors still have confidence in Barbados, and are willing to book that far in advance. It’s a level we want to improve,” Springer noted.
Springer said she was quite concerned about the dip in visitor’s use of attractions across the island, as well as the state of the Euro Zone.
“The important thing is for visitors to experience all of Barbados, and not just our hotels. In a busy time when we have arrivals and cruise passengers, we still see a decline in attractions, not in numbers but in revenue. That is very troublesome. Part of the Barbados experience is also the wonderful restaurants and attractions that we have.”Springer believes Europe remains an enigma.
“When I turn on the TV every day, I wonder what next about the Euro market,” she told hoteliers. “If the recession persists we could see countries lose an entire generation of employable persons, and there could also be a political backlash,” the veteran hotelier and tourism administrator told members.
Springer also said the controversial Airport Passenger Duty placed in British travelers continues to affect long haul vacations with the exception of high-wealth travelers.“Jamaica now has a direct flight from Russia. We know the Russians have money and are coming. We have to look at that market as well,” Springer suggested. Â
