Minister of Tourism Senator Lisa Cummins says KLM Airline’s new operation into Barbados should translate into 20 000 additional seats from Europe to Barbados over the next five months.
Speaking at a press conference at the Hilton Barbados earlier today, Cummins said those passenger figures translated into business opportunities for businesses, hotels and people waiting to get back to work. She noted KLM served over 300 destinations in over 100 countries and said the new Amsterdam-Bridgetown service would provide great access and seamless connectivity from major European countries.
Cummins indicated it also represented opportunities for economic expansion. “It is an important conversation that we must have as a nation on how we link tourism to the wider economy. Tourism is not just around the recreational traveller; it is not just about leisure and when we bring new airlift and new aircraft. We are opening new opportunities for trade, for international business, new opportunities to fill the top of the plane with passengers and the bottom of the plane with cargo and exports.”
The Dutch airline’s inaugural flight from Amsterdam to Barbados touched down at the Grantley Adams International Airport Saturday, 83 years after that airline’s first passenger flight from Amsterdam to Barbados. (GC)
