DURING THE CURRENT long holiday weekend, the island has the fortune of being able to boast of playing host to more than 45 000 cruise passengers and crew. At a time when foreign exchange is not nearly as plentiful as we would like and the overall economy is still not near what is necessary to support the society we have been building, this is not news at which to scoff.
In fact, what it ought to say to all Barbadians is that while economic diversification is critical, and putting all our eggs in one basket is absolutely dangerous, we cannot disregard the importance of tourism in the grand scheme of things.
This island is about to end another record year for both long-stay and cruise tourist arrivals, and we have just started another winter tourist season with bookings that suggest we should not have done too badly by the time the season ends just after the end of the first quarter of 2017.
But this weekend’s bumper cruise ship arrivals should also remind those who are responsible for national planning, as well as the so-called captains of industry, that capturing the attention of those who visit, and converting them to long-stay visitors, can’t be left to chance.
Our visitors, arriving at the heart of the Christmas season, will be met by a virtually closed capital city and with very limited attractions available across the island. We understand the significance of Christmas, that people would prefer to spend the days with their loved ones – and we appreciate that if there is insufficient business, the cost of opening and paying workers triple time will make any such decision unprofitable.
What that suggests is that there ought to be a planned and coordinated national approach to such occasions. Maybe there ought to be incentives to retail stores and attractions that open on such days. Perhaps the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Social Partnership, the trade unions and even the church should be involved in some discussion to ensure that visitors are wowed when they leave the Bridgetown Port.
If, however, as has been the case in past years, the Sanitation Service Authority has not been able to clean the streets of Bridgetown after the close of business on Christmas Eve, our one-day guests are sure to be confronted by more than just closed stores.
Their journey to our UNESCO-recognised City of Bridgetown will be characterised by streets littered with garbage, and their unescorted tours will be punctuated by soliciting vagrants – that is, those they don’t have to step over while they sleep on the sidewalks. We have seen it Sunday after Sunday when cruise ships come calling at the weekend, and nothing we have heard so far gives us comfort to believe it will be any different this weekend.
But we sincerely hope we are wrong.
In any event, while this weekend’s bumper arrivals bring the issue into focus, it is about a lot more than the 45 000 who will be calling this time around. Despite its UNESCO designation as a world heritage site, Bridgetown remains in many respects in need of an overhaul. Its sidewalks, except perhaps for Swan Street and Tudor Street/Baxters Road, can be a challenge, too many derelict buildings still dot the landscape and our efforts at keeping it free of litter have fallen woefully short.
Unlike long-stay visitors, cruise ship passengers sample multiple destinations in a single trip, and if we want to come out at the top of their lists, we have to do better. We can only hope that this weekend’s 45 000 leave with a favourable view. We are keeping our fingers crossed.