IS THE PREDICTED SIX OR SEVEN PER CENT FALL in long-stay visitors during the month of January directly due to reduced promotional expenditure by the national marketing agency and if so, has anyone put a dollar value on the consequential loss of tax revenue to Government?
Is this yet another example of a failed policy decision, as when Government increased the level of value added tax only to find the overall amount went down, not up – from $683.4 million in 2011 to $666.6 million in 2012, according to the Central Bank.
A six per cent decrease in arrivals, compared to January 2012, would represent 3 157 fewer people, and seven per cent, 3 683.
Last January was already down on the previous year – albeit only by 0.8 per cent, according to Caribbean Tourism Organization figures.
What we should be asking is how much those missing thousands would have spent and whether the current dearth of funds to the Barbados Tourism Authority is actually costing the industry and the nation’s coffers more than we can imagine.
It does not just end with tax collection, but has to take into account increased benefit payments due to layoffs and reduced spending by those fully employed.
And how this will also impact on overall occupancy levels during the critical four winter months and economy of scale and expense caused by lower lodging levels.
Of course, these precious winter months also command the highest room rates, which in many cases helps hotels limp through the softer summer period.
Are we being penny wise and pound foolish?
A regular long-stay Canadian visitor asked me why the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) did not exhibit at the recently concluded Ultimate Travel Show in Toronto.
With a population approaching six million people in the greater Toronto area, all of whom live within an hour’s drive of Pearson International Airport plus a BTA office in Canada’s largest city, I could not proffer an explanation.
Given the climatic conditions, the time of year and the falling arrival numbers, it didn’t seem to make any sense at all – especially when looking through the exhibitors’ list and seeing many of our competitors who obviously saw the value of attending the show.
Why were we not there at the national level?
The only Barbadian representative was Swim Barbados Vacations.
From the region, those who were present included Aruba, Belize, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Cuba, United States Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Turks and Caicos.
Of course it is not feasible to be at everything, but could not some sort of collective presence with private and public sector partners be organized to avoid what clearly appears another missed opportunity.
Despite the sub-zero temperatures and snow, provisional attendance numbers were over 12 000, according to show manager Julie Miller. Clearly, the vast majority visiting the event were there for the purpose of choosing a holiday.
Just maybe they were influenced to book an alternative destination.
Ironically, a large BTA delegation went to the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association MarketPlace days earlier in The Bahamas.
With the obvious lack of promotional funds, perhaps this event was deemed more likely to be cost-effective than the one in Canada and could result in driving higher visitor numbers.
