WHEN IT COMES to the hotel sector in Barbados, size and international reputation matter. The bigger, the better.
That’s why chief executive officer of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Sue Springer, believes more emphasis should be placed on the island attracting more brand-name hotel chains to shore up current occupancy levels.
According to her, the recent acquisition of the world-renowned Sandals facility was a shoe on the right foot, but more steps needed to be taken to attract other “big brand” hotel chains.
“As a destination we are very behind in terms of attracting globally-recognised hotel brands, notwithstanding the recent advent of Sandals, that can add quality room stock,” Springer told the DAILY NATION.
“Having a judicious mix of global chains and indigenous local independent operators, Barbados will stand its best chance at appealing to a much broader base of traveller and moving the national occupancy needle significantly in the right direction, while increasing visitor spend,” the long-standing tourism administrator added.
She noted that global brands always brought global recognition with them. “(They) tend to not only market themselves, but also the destinations in which they operate.”
According to her, such recognition could take some of the pressure off the Barbados Tourism Marketing Incorporated (BTMI) in marketing the country.
“To do this means moving occupancy up in the softer summer periods,” she added.
Springer said most of Barbados’ unused capacity was in the summer, and for new accommodation businesses like the bigger brands, summer traffic would have to improve significantly. “Otherwise, we would be building hotels only for winter.”
She also warned that investment in the existing hotel plant was a must for Barbados to satisfy any increased occupancy. “The island could move past maturity and re-invent itself without losing what has made it successful in the first place.”
She said she also felt Barbados should use the just released competitive index by the World Economic Forum to its advantage. The island was the top ranking Caribbean destination on the index, and the only CARICOM country in the top ten.
“That should feature at every trade show that Barbados attends. Barbados has been a mature destination for some time. What it perhaps shows is that Barbados is possibly being seen as a more modern tourism destination in the context of the Caribbean, evidenced by a world class restaurant/nightlife sub-sector.”
She added that the positive index might not translate into increased arrivals immediately, since for potential investors, the timeline could be more than two years.
“The main area of benefit for us is that it allows us to take a long, hard look at the areas where we are weak and improve them. For example, obtaining construction permits, Barbados was ranked 138; pay and productivity, ranked 109; and comprehensiveness of travel and tourism data, ranked 107,” Springer said.