Former Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy is a fan of the 12-month Welcome Stamp initiative, but is concerned that not enough is being done by Government to reboot the sector to properly rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) lunchtime lecture yesterday at the DLP’s George Street, Belleville, St Michael headquarters, Sealy said he had grave concerns why, at a time when Barbados needed to be marketed and advertised in a particular way to deal with challenges associated with the pandemic, a permanent leader was yet to be named to head the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI).
Former chief of the BTMI, William “Billy” Griffith, resigned to go into the private sector in October last year, and Government, having appointed people to lead BTMI on an interim basis, is yet to name someone to permanently head the organisation.
“I think now that you basically have little or no tourism in Barbados, this is the time the greatest level of intellectual rigour ever brought to tourism planning should be expended,” Sealy said. He cited The Bahamas and Cayman Islands as Caribbean nations that were well under way to rebooting their overall product. (BA)
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Former Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy speaking during the DLP lunchtime lecture yesterday. (Picture by Barry Alleyne.)
