Chairman of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), Roseanne Myers, called for collaboration between the public and private sectors, including stakeholders at all levels of the tourism sector, to fashion a strategy for a post-COVID-19 industry.
Myers also told the first quarterly general meeting of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) today it was vital for Barbados to follow the lead of the health professionals and work to build a destination that would be perceived as safe by prospective visitors.
In her presentation as part of a panel of experts from the tourism, health and agriculture sectors, the newly-appointed BTMI chairman said tourism remained the main plank of Barbados’ economy and planning should be done for a strong rebound of an industry that saw a 93 per cent decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However chief executive officer of the BHTA, Senator Rudy Grant, struck a positive note in his report to the meeting, saying the availability of COVID-19 vaccines provided the hope for the resurgence of tourism business and the confidence boost that travellers needed.
Grant said in the “unexpected and unwelcomed” disruption of the first quarter of the year, the BHTA was forced to “rethink and reconsider critical issues” and to lobby and collaborate to guarantee the survival of the tourism industry and maintain jobs. (GC)
