FOR the Barbados Hotel Tourism Association (BHTA), it’s back to the drawing board after a disappointing 2016 winter tourist season.
New chief executive officer Rudy Grant already has his eyes set on that pathway to progress.
“There are areas where we will be engaging in continued dialogue with our ministry and Government agency partners, as it relates to value added tax refunds, land tax rebate refunds and the execution of the Tourism Development Amendment Act (TDAA), so that our members are able to access its provisions in a timely manner,” Grant said, after revealing that both occupancy at its member hotels and spending by visitors had dropped in the latter part of last year.
The numbers were disappointing, since the sector was hoping for a repeat of the year before, when occupancy and spending were up, leading officials to believe the industry had turned the economic corner. (BA)
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