MOST PEOPLE I know look forward to travelling whether it is for shopping, work, vacation or visiting family. I have only met one person who does not like traveling at all.
I love to travel, and over the years I have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people and visit some amazing places. Whether it is a 40-minute flight to Grenada or 28 hours flying to Queensland, Australia, it really doesn’t matter to me because there are benefits that await me when I arrive.
There are many benefits of travelling and today I want to highlight one of my favourites.
Each time I arrive in a country, especially one I haven’t been to, I use the opportunity while there to observe how the country operates; its laws and regulations, its infrastructure, various services for the public, customer service, social behavior, racial diversity and the list goes on.
The one I always pay close attention to is transportation and roads/infrastructure. What I am looking for are things of value that can either be implemented here or modified to work here so as to enhance the public’s experience and support the development of Barbados.
Below are some observations I made while travelling.
Germany – Roadworks on highways and roads in a country is an ongoing affair so to see it on the roads in Stuttgart wasn’t surprising. What I did observe was the way in which the public was alerted of roadworks up ahead. Large and medium signs with blinking lights (even in the daytime) alerting you of your distance from the actual work was set up strategically along the road or highway.
If a lane was closed, there was a sign alerting you way in advance and a sign indicating your distance from where the lane closed. These early and periodic warnings gave drivers ample time to divert or change lanes.
Holland (Netherlands) – Amsterdam is a very busy but beautiful city. Exploring the country by bus or car or the city by tram, bicycle, scooter or walking is very easy for a non-local. What makes the experience so easy is the informative brochures, which contain modern up-to-date and very detailed maps. The maps have every shop, road, side street, canal, bridge, tram station, tram stop, bus station, bus stop, restaurant, historic site, church, police station and so on.
I don’t know if there is but I have never seen a detailed map of Bridgetown for public or travelling use. Also, the maps of Barbados that tourists are given would even have a local confused and lost. We need to urgently update our maps.
England – Each bus stop I waited at while in the UK had something in common. Located on one of the sides of the shelter’s frame was a coloured information board with a map showing where you were on the route, which buses passed that stop, the times, where they were going and where you could connect on another route.
This is needed in Barbados.
Finland – This country is amazingly clean and its environment well maintained; well I should say where I was in Vaasa. What also fascinated me were the roads. Every single road I drove on was well paved, well outlined and marked and in great condition. Whether it was in the city or out in the country, it didn’t matter.
Let me just leave this here. In Barbados, cars are sent for roadworthy certificates, but as someone on Facebook asked, are the roads car worthy?
Israel – While in Israel, I never had an issue knowing where I was or where I was heading. Tourism is a major source of income in Israel and with over thee million tourists annually visiting to see religious, historical and archaeological sites, it isn’t surprising that they are very efficient with their signage. You know when you have arrived in Jerusalem or when you are approaching Tel Aviv, Capernaum or Nazareth; signs are everywhere and they are large, easy to read and reflective.
If most Bajans have no idea when they enter a parish, can you imagine the headache tourists have? We can do better in this area.
Next time you are travelling to another country use the opportunity to look around and see what works there and may be of benefit to Barbados and don’t forget to share when you return.
• Corey Worrell, a former Commonwealth youth ambassador, is director of C2J Foundation Inc., a project-based NGO focusing on social development.
email: coreyworrell@gmail.com