A report in one of Britain’s leading papers headlined Stench of Economic Decay is Overwhelming Barbados, has attracted the ire of Barbados’ Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy.
And his ministry has written a letter to the editor of the paper to express its concern with the publication of the article without “doing us the courtesy of making an enquiry”.
Sealy expressed “shock and disappointment” about the article that appeared on page two of the Business section of the Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom on Thursday.
He said the article was “viciously crafted with invective rhetoric and hyperbole, which could only have been gleaned from ‘informal connections’, in an attempt to denigrate Barbados’ reputation, a country which currently ranks #25 of 180 countries by Transparency International”.
“We are also confounded that The Telegraph, a long-standing media partner of Barbados, would print such a scathing article about a partner, who spends significant sums in advertising with them annually, without doing us the courtesy of making an enquiry. This is a terrible affront and an incredulous situation”.
The minister said it was no secret that Barbados was currently facing a breach of the sewerage system on the South Coast which had overflowed and was affecting sections of the heavily trafficked coast road.
“The safety of both locals and visitors remains our top priority and, since the breach, the frequency of the testing of the island’s potable water supply was increased and these tests confirmed that Barbados’ water quality both meets and surpasses the World Health Organisation’s standards,” the minister said.
Sealy said Barbados continues to be the holiday destination of choice for Britons, Europeans, Americans, Canadians, and many others who had made the island their home away from home and 2017 was a record year for arrivals with 663 441 visitors. He said the United Kingdom was the largest source market, representing 222 322 visitors. (PR)
