MR AUSTIN HUSBANDS on the Brass Tacks radio programme over the weekend (Friday, October 23 and Sunday, October 25) repeated inaccuracies first attributed to him in the Nation of Thursday, October 22.
In fairness to the hard-working staff of the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA), I want to set the record straight in regard to the planning of the very successful Speightstown Alive event, which was held on August 8 and for which the BTPA provided assistance.
• Staff of the BTPA and members of the Speightstown business community (those who responded to the invitation) participated in four planning meetings prior to the holding of the event;
• Mr Husbands was present at some of these meetings and was among the most vocal during the meetings he attended;
• Any decisions taken in regard to the planning of the event were collectively made by the BTPA and the Speightstown business community;
• The Speightstown Alive event blanketed the entire downtown area with activity from the Esplanade in the north to approximately by the supermarket in the south, rather than limiting activity to the Esplanade area, as often occurs;
• The cultural show, which was held by Republic Bank, was a sundown/night activity. However, the Speightstown Alive event started from as early as 10 a.m.;
• The BTPA, with the assistance of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, conducted surveys targeted separately at visitors, locals and businesspersons during the event to allow us to measure predetermined metrics. A post-event survey of the businesses was also undertaken by BTPA staff. Reports of the successful impact of the event on the Speightstown business community have been widely reported and need no repetition here.
Mr Austin Husbands’ experience as a businessman and a tourism partner is well known. It therefore saddened me to read in Thursday’s paper of the closure of his business. I wish him well and know that irrepressible as he is, he will continue to play a role in the redevelopment of Speightstown.
– Cecil Miller, Chairman, Barbados Tourism Product Authority.
