Can Barbados still rely on the British tourism market?
As much as Barbados’ tourism officials have talked about diversifying the island’s tourism product, including the effort to attract tourists from Brazil, the British market remains No. 1.
So that when Britain plunged into recession a few years ago, when Barbados was in the middle of its own economic difficulties, the downturn in tourism arrivals from Britain hurt Barbados’ economic prospects and its foreign exchange earnings.
Based on last week’s report from the Barbados Tourism Marketing and Investment’s (BTMI) hierarchy, the increase in travel from Britain has been the major catalyst for the improved tourism performance Barbados experienced during the recent winter season. BTMI chief executive officer William “Billy” Griffith said long-stay arrivals from Britain accounted for 37 per cent of Barbados’ visitors. There was an overall 13.9 per cent increase in arrivals from Britain in the first quarter of this year, he said.
Speaking at a travel conference in Britain in 2012, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Richard Sealy acknowledged that market’s importance to Barbados. He said: “We have maintained strong partnerships with the private sector and the historical and cultural ties between Barbados and Britain have continued to bind us.”
Griffifth stressed this point too when he took up his post in Barbados and attended the World Travel Market in London.
Commenting on Britain’s emergence from recession and the related increase in consumer confidence he said: “The signs of consumer confidence are particulary important for our prospects for growth in 2015. The newly formed BTMI will work swiftly and efficiently to idenfity, negotiate, and share opportunities on behalf of our stakeholders.”
The British market’s importance was also illustrated when officials were anxious about the impact of the the air passenger duty levied by the British government. But having waited anxiously for the British economy to improve, which it was felt would translate into increased arrivals from that market, there are some changes that Barbados will have to contend with as it seeks to keep the Brits interested.
This includes the fact that Barbados is not just competing with other countries in the Caribbean, but also the world, some distinations which are geographically closer to Britain and are easier and more affordable to reach. There are varying views about the extent to which such issues will impact Barbados’ ability to attract British visitors, but in addition to the larger numbers who arrived during the winter season, local tourism officials would have been motivated by the hundreds of Brits who journeyed here recently for the Test match between the West Indies and England.
Barbados’ effort to continue diversifying the sector, thereby reducing reliance on the British market, will also be a plus for the island. There was evidence of this in the winter when arrivals from Canada grew by 28.4 per cent, the biggest increase among all markets. There were also increases from the United States, Germany, Latin America, and some CARICOM islands.
As Barbados enters the slow summer months offering special visitor inducements like the Brilliant Barbados discount promotion, the hope would be that long-stay arrivals would continue to increase for the rest of the year, even if that is unlikely outside of the winter season.
However, based on the past and the most recent performance, it is clear that Britain will continue to be the market on which Barbados relies for the majority of its visitors, even if their age and spending habits change.
