HOTEL HIGH – Jemmott: Extreme cold, Rihanna driving tourists to Barbados

NORTH AMERICA’S big freeze and Rihanna’s popularity are among the reasons cited by a veteran hotelier for the flood of visitors currently in Barbados.
Alvin Jemmott, general manager of Divi Southwinds, said while he had not analysed the current bumper tourist season in a scientific way, there were a few clear contributory factors.
“One, it is extremely cold in all of our major source markets. We’re having the worst winter in Canada, south-eastern United States and the United Kingdom,” he told the DAILY?NATION.
“In the case of the UK, I think (Britons) may very well have accepted the fact that the airline passenger duty is in place. Once taxes go into place it takes a little while and then they become normal. People from the UK might have adjusted to that,” he said.