Tourism long-stay numbers may be up but individual spending by tourists has dropped by 29 per cent, said Opposition Senator Ryan Walters, as he cautioned the Government over its borrowing policies.
He was taking part in the Senate debate yesterday on the Foreign Currency Permits Bill, 2025, introduced by Leader of Government Business Senator Lisa Cummins that would repeal and replace the Foreign Currency Permits Act, 2018.
“The policy of the Government and the shift from borrowing locally to borrowing externally has a negative impact, as it relates to us trying to manage what little foreign exchange that we earn through tourism, which, as I said, the gross domestic product contribution is in declining . . . . Agriculture is in significant decline and we have to import all sorts of food that we eat,” Walters, a business executive, said.
In the last Central Bank briefing it was stated that tourism was on the increase and based on figures from the Barbados Statistical Service, there could be no disagreeing that there were more longstay visitors in 2024 than they were in 2019, 2018 and 2017.
“That is a good sign for the country and we need to continue to make every effort to make sure that we continue to attract tourists . . . . But when you look at the contribution to the GDP (gross domestic product) of tourism. . . it is worrisome. Although you’re seeing an increase in the number of stay-over passengers to the country, you are actually seeing
a decline in the contribution to the GDP of tourism.
“So, on one hand, you’re seeing an increase of tourists, persons coming into the country, but they’re not seeing that increase in contribution, in terms of what those persons are contributing to our gross domestic product,” he said.
The contribution of long-stay visitor spend, based on the Central Bank Report, dropped from $141.34 in 2019 to $99.91 per individual in 2024, he explained, adding this was a decline of 29 per cent in terms of a long-stay visitors’ contribution to the GDP.
“While we consider that we are getting more visitors, we are also seeing a decline in the contribution to GDP. We’ve seen a significant fall-off from the spend. We’re also seeing that the average number of days that passengers stay have reduced.
“But I just raised these points, because . . . we can’t just be overworking one department, one ministry, one area of focus, trying to get business, trying to close the gap on our foreign exchange deficit and then, on the other hand, we are not paying enough attention to some of these details that have the ability to contribute significantly to our ability to earn foreign exchange . . . or not spend foreign exchange.” (AC)
