The festive season has brought increased activity in the tourism sector and officials are projecting a “strong” end to this winter season.
Arrivals for the first 14 days of December were down by just over ten per cent, officials say, but a random check of hotels across the island showed high occupancy for the Christmas to New Year period.
The dip in arrivals for the first part of the month is higher than the year to date figures, which show a six per cent decline over 2011. Given the later December surge, the actual decline is expected to be lower when the December figures are tallied.
Officials of both the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) and the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA) are expecting things to pick up and are projecting that this winter season will be as strong as last year’s.
President of the BHTA, Patricia Afonso-Daas, said Canada was flat, but the United States and Britain were the two problematic areas.
“Their dip is what is causing that overall decline,” Afonso-Daas said. (YB)
