THE recent upsurge in crime should not trigger any panic about fallout in visitor arrivals to Barbados.
That’s the position of Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy, as the country’s Police Commissioner Darwin Dottin also seeks to reassure locals that lawmen are aggressively tackling the crime problem.
Sealy told the MIDWEEK NATION that safety and security remained very important brand elements for this tourism-dependent destination; and while crime at any level was unacceptable the situation was not out of control.
“Barbados still has an image of being a very safe place and if you look at the incidence of crime against tourists it is extremely low,” he said. “I’m not suggesting we have nothing to worry about or that crime is not a problem.
One criminal act in any society is a problem but, at the same time, before we get too carried away with the whole bit about damaging the tourism product, we have to put it in context.” Sealy said that rather than panic, residents should give their support to the crime fighting efforts of Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs Adriel Brathwaite and Commissioner Dottin.
“They are two very capable men who have a task on their hands and we have to support them,” he said.
Speaking at a Press conference on Monday to announce breakthroughs in one murder investigation and a series of aggravated burglaries, the island’s police chief sought to assure Barbadians that there was no need to worry. (DP)
