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Winter season well poised to take off

Gercine Carter
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Winter season well poised to take off

Tomorrow’s official start of Barbados’ 2025/2026 tourism winter cruise season marks the beginning of a year with an encouraging outlook for the performance of the bedrock of the Barbados economy.

With projections for increased activity in most tourism sectors during the coming year, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill says he remains “quietly encouraged for next year, based on the acknowledged success of the current year and the strong positive indications for the coming year”.

Sharing his plans with the Sunday Sun, Gooding-Edghill said: “In 2026 and beyond, we will be seeking to expand airlift into Barbados, with the implementation of Phase 2 of our airlift strategy. We are going to focus on expanded airlift from Canada, Manchester and Europe, in addition to other key gateways.”

He observed that Phase 1 of that strategy was already responsible for increased air seat capacity from the United States, with the return of American carriers Delta and American Airlines coming out of key US gateways, as well as the return of Copa Airlines from Latin America, which is an important source of airlift for a market which Barbados has been working to grow.

Marketing push

Gooding-Edghill added that key marketing activities and incentives would be implemented to increase visitor arrivals during the summer months, a period when arrival numbers have traditionally dropped. He announced as part of his 2026 policy initiatives the appointment of two new overseas Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) directors in the first quarter of the year to boost promotion in markets Barbados was now targeting.

“We have appointed a director for Africa and the Gulf States, who will reside in Kenya, with satellite offices in Ghana and the UAE . . . . A second BTMI external director will be appointed for Asia and the Pacific to be located in China, with supporting staff and facilities deployed to cover this extensive market.

“It is intended that our presence in these emerging markets will result in significant exposure of the Barbados brand through intense marketing and personal interaction with the travel trade to increase visitor arrivals from those markets.”

Even as he works at positioning Barbados more strongly in the global tourism arena, Gooding-Edghill expressed awareness that those plans could be derailed by external forces, saying: “You will have to continuously monitor the geo-political landscape, the economies of our major source markets and consumer confidence and skilfully respond to any shocks that come our way in a timely manner.”

Stay-over bump Reporting to the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) membership last week, chairman Javon Griffith shared statistics which showed an increase in the number of stay-over visitors for 2025, which exceeded the pre-pandemic, highperformance year of 2019.

He also noted that cruise tourism had rebounded “appreciatively”, with passenger numbers trending upwards and airlift across the island’s source markets growing exponentially.

Griffith urged continuing airlift advocacy and the protection of and continuing focus on the growth of Barbados’ tourism in the US.

He advised securing and promoting the reinstated KLM airline service out of the Netherlands, while exploring the possibility of expanded European connectivity, as well as targeting tourism opportunities from Africa and the Middle East.

From an accommodation perspective, the BHTA chairman envisioned a 2026 with expanded hotel plant such as the Royalton Vessence, a Blue Diamond Resorts hotel on the West Coast due to open on July 1, 2026, and the Hotel Indigo on the South Coast, scheduled for a January 2026 opening.

He said these two hotels and others, either to be built or completed over the next two years, formed part of a massive plan that represents “well over US$1 billion in hotel and related real estate development”.

Against this background, the BHTA head projected a “cautiously optimistic” outlook for 2026.

He anticipated “modest single-digit growth in stay-over arrivals, contingent on stable economic conditions in source markets”, for the coming year while hailing the Minister of Tourism for his tireless efforts that resulted in new and returning airlift.

BTMI is ramping up its marketing, taking Barbados’ message to potentially new markets around the globe.

Chairman Andrea Franklin said the BTMI’s targeted sales and marketing approach across all markets was a “focus on building and maintaining airlift; reconnecting to its travel trade community and promoting a vibrant cultural calendar of events resulting in favourable forward bookings”.

She was “very optimistic” that the island would see positive growth in visitor arrivals in the 2025/2026 winter season and said her team engaged all stakeholders industrywide in a consultation last month to bring everyone up to date on planned improvements at the island’s two ports of entry, in anticipation of the increased traffic expected to be passing through both points.

More than 800 000 cruise passengers are expected and more than 400 cruise ship calls are scheduled for the Bridgetown Port during the 2025/2026 winter season.

Local cruise tourism specialist Martin Ince, the chief executive officer of Foster & Ince, anticipates a “strong season going right up to the second week of April”, based on the bookings. However, he said there would be “no cruise ships visiting Barbados during next year’s summer season”.

“In fact, there are no cruise ships coming south of Antigua during the summer. We have known this for a little while because, obviously, the cruise ship schedules are done far in advance,” Ince said.

In the past, Barbados received summer calls at the Bridgetown Port from the popular Carnival cruise line, which ceased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That southern Caribbean Carnival rotation has since been discontinued, with Carnival ships being repositioned to the northern Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean, which was doing a two-week rotation to the southern Caribbean during the 2025 summer season, has also been repositioned to the northern Caribbean.

However, though Ince said the loss was “disappointing, he said “the good thing is that the summer of 2027 will see a lot more traffic down our way”. He anticipated it would be “the largest number of cruise ships Barbados will be seeing in the summer in a very long time”.

The veteran cruising expert said Barbados was seeing “a fair share of new ships” visiting during the winter season. (GC)

Australia: 11 killed in shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach

Nationnews Desk
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Australia: 11 killed in shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach

Two gunmen opened fire at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, December 14, killing 11 people and wounding multiple others in a “terrorist incident” during a gathering for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Emergency responders rushed another 29 people to various hospitals from the beach, one of the biggest tourist draws in Australia’s largest city, said New South Wales police. One of the alleged shooters was killed, and the second was in critical condition, police said.

Police declared the shooting a “terrorist incident” and revealed they had found suspected “improvised explosive devices” in a vehicle near the beach that was linked to the “deceased offender.”

“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith – an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a televised address. “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.”

The shooting took place during an annual “Hanukkah by the Sea” event in the afternoon at Bondi Beach.

“We heard the shots. It was shocking, it felt like 10 minutes of just bang, bang, bang. It seemed like a powerful weapon,” Camilo Diaz, a 25-year-old student from Chile, told AFP at the scene. Crowds fled in fear from the beach in eastern Sydney, which draws huge numbers of surfers, swimmers and tourists, especially at weekends.

Emergency services first responded to reports of shots being fired at 6:45pm local time, New South Wales police said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned it as a “cruel attack on Jews” and urged the Australian authorities to step up the fight against antisemitism.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she was “shocked” by the shooting. “Europe stands with Australia and Jewish communities everywhere. We are united against violence, antisemitism and hatred,” von der Leyen, the European Commission President, wrote on X. “This appalling act of violence against the Jewish community must be unequivocally condemned,” added EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that France would fight “relentlessly against antisemitic hatred” as he extended his condolences. “France extends its thoughts to the victims, the injured and their loved ones,” Macron said in English on X. “We share the pain of the Australian people and will continue to fight relentlessly against antisemitic hatred, which hurts us all, wherever it strikes.”

The grassy hill overlooking Bondi Beach was strewn with discarded items from people fleeing too fast to pack up, including an abandoned children’s stroller, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

Paramedics tended to multiple people lying on the grass by the beach, images broadcast by public broadcaster ABC showed. A weapon that appeared to be a pump action shot-gun was lying by a tree by the beach.

A British tourist told AFP he saw “two shooters in black” after the gunfire broke out. “There was a shooting, two shooters in black with semi-automatic rifles,” Timothy Brant-Coles told AFP, saying he saw multiple people who had been shot and wounded.

Another witness, 30-year-old local resident Harry Wilson, told the Sydney Morning Herald he saw “at least 10 people on the ground and blood everywhere.”

Bondi Beach’s local Waverley Council said it was “deeply saddened” by the attack. “Our thoughts and prayers are with anyone who has been impacted by this horrendous act, which occurred as Chanukah festivities were taking place,” a spokesperson for the council said. (Le Monde)

Watson slams Growth Fund Bill

Shawn Cumberbatch
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Watson slams Growth Fund Bill

Attorney and consumer advocate Tricia Watson has called Government’s proposed Economic Diversification and Growth Fund alarming and not acceptable, saying it is being established to “give our money to substantial foreign companies”.

Watson shared her concerns via social media on Friday as the Economic Diversification And Growth Fund Bill, 2025 was under consideration in the House of Assembly. The legislation was later passed following a debate led by Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn.

The legislation seeks to “establish a fund, to be known as the Economic Diversification and Growth Fund, to provide financial support to certain companies to increase employment, earnings of foreign exchange and economic growth in Barbados”.

It will be capitalised by an initial $225 million “to be drawn from the Consolidated Fund over a three-year period in annual instalments of $75 million”.

“The purpose . . . is to provide financial support to qualifying companies to increase employment and contribute to economic growth. The commitment to the earning of foreign exchange is going to be absolutely critical with respect to this as it relates to the jobs,” Straughn said.

“So, companies obviously will have a real and substantive economic presence in Barbados, in order to be able to be considered, to be qualified, with respect to the fund.

Watson charged that Government had rushed to Parliament with this major law “while you are distracted by Christmas activities”.

“This was laid in Parliament on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, and is being debated on Friday, December 12, 2025. When it is passed in the Senate and assented to by the President it will go into effect immediately, no requirement for proclamation,” she said.

“The money in the Consolidated Fund is our hard-earned money or money that we will have to repay to lenders using our hard-earned money.”

One of the issues Watson had with the legislation was that certain terms were not properly defined, including “real and substantial economic presence” and “real and substantial economic activity”.

“When you look at the provisions that set out how a company can go about getting money out of this fund, there is no rigour required. There is a committee that will look at applications to get money out of the fund and make recommendations to the minister, and monitor to see if the people receiving money from the fund [are in] compliance,” she said.

“But there is little detail about the information that the company will have to provide, or what the company will have to prove in order to get our money.”

Watson added: “There is no requirement to provide financial information, no requirement for shareholder information and no ‘fit and proper’ requirement for directors and other officers of the company, no requirement for the company to prove that it is in good standing in other places where it operates.” The attorney said these were “the minimum requirements that should be in place for any company getting public funds. “To make matters worse, it says that the minister may enter into the agreement with the company for disbursement of the money. “In Barbados, ministers are not empowered to contract for the Government. This bill and the fund are utter nonsense. They do not meet the standard that is set out for handling public funds that are set out in our own laws. “There is no clarity on whether monies disbursed are grants – and therefore, don’t have to be repaid, or, if the disbursements are loans, nothing is said about repayment.” Watson also said that “there is no requirement for the Government to disclose who has applied for our money”. “There is no requirement for the Government to disclose who will get our money. There will be no accountability for what happens with this fund! This is ridiculous!” she said.

“This is not acceptable. I don’t care what party you support. I don’t care how much money you have or you do not have – this is not okay.” (SC)

Natural Resources Ministry in Guyana urges miners to stop paying workers in raw gold

Nationnews Desk
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Natural Resources Ministry in Guyana urges miners to stop paying workers in raw gold

 The Ministry of Natural Resources has strongly urged miners across Guyana to cease the practice of paying workers in raw gold, warning that the illegal method of compensation undermines transparency, weakens gold declarations, and exposes workers to exploitation and unsafe practices.

The call was made during a high-level meeting convened earlier this week  by the Ministry of Natural Resources in collaboration with the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA).

In a statement, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, reiterated that all workers in the mining sector must be paid through lawful financial channels in keeping with labour and tax laws.

 He also reminded miners that it is illegal to allow what is commonly referred to as the “Blai box,” stressing that gold may only be used in transactions with approved buyers and the Guyana Gold Board. 

The ministry indicated that inspections will be increased and employers found in breach will face penalties.

During the engagement, Bharrat further emphasised the Government of Guyana’s firm commitment to ensuring that the country’s mineral resources are managed responsibly, transparently, and in strict accordance with the law.

As part of a strengthened enforcement approach, several enhanced measures were identified and are to be implemented immediately. 

These include tighter oversight of licensed gold dealers and traders, with intensified audits of purchasing records, verification of gold source declarations, and routine compliance checks. 

Dealers found facilitating undeclared gold transactions or failing to meet reporting requirements risk sanctions, including the suspension or revocation of their licences.

The ministry also announced a significant scale-up in field operations across mining districts to curb illegal mining. 

These efforts will focus on ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, and production reporting standards, while targeting unauthorised mining activities.

Additionally, agencies under the ministry’s purview have been directed to intensify the seizure of illegal mining equipment, particularly machinery operating without proper documentation or within prohibited areas. 

This forms part of what the ministry described as a zero-tolerance stance against activities that undermine national mining regulations.

To further strengthen enforcement, multi-agency operations will be expanded, involving the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and other relevant agencies. 

These joint operations will focus on identifying, arresting, and prosecuting individuals and groups engaged in illegal mining.

Miners were also strongly urged to sell gold only to the Guyana Gold Board or licensed dealers, a move the ministry said is critical for maintaining accurate national production data, promoting fair trade, and ensuring the sector’s benefits are properly accounted for. (CMC)

Sammy’s stinging verdict: Batsmen must “stand up” after Wellington wobble

Nationnews Desk
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Sammy’s stinging verdict: Batsmen must “stand up” after Wellington wobble

 A visibly frustrated West Indies head coach Daren Sammy dissected another damaging collapse, labelling his team’s nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the second Test as a case of “two steps backwards.”

The tourists, utterly outplayed inside three days at the Basin Reserve, were skittled for 205 and a paltry 128, leaving the Black Caps a trivial target.

While the bowlers shared the wickets in New Zealand’s first innings, with fast bowler Anderson Phillip finishing with four in the match, the batting frailties were terminal.

Shai Hope’s 47 and John Campbell’s 44 were the highest scores of a dismal collective effort, leaving Sammy to draw a painful parallel with a past failure on New Zealand soil.

“It shows every time we try to take a step forward, we take about two steps backwards,” Sammy stated. “It takes me back to 2013, where we drew the Test in Dunedin, came here, and lost inside three days. It’s just the consistency that we’re looking for.”

The coach pinpointed a familiar foe: a failure to seize crucial moments. “We keep getting ourselves in good positions, but little moments switch the momentum, and in this Test match, once we lost the momentum, we lost it for a long period of time.”

While praising a relentless New Zealand attack that “answered the call,” Sammy’s sharpest criticism was reserved for his own batting line-up. He delivered a blunt assessment of their failure to support a battling bowling unit.

“In a team, you want people to step up when needed the most. In this Test match, nobody stood up for us,” he said. “When you have runs not coming from the number seven and the number five positions, it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the team. The bowlers are doing their job. It’s not the bowlers’ fault. I think it’s the batsmen that have to take more responsibility.”

Sammy pointed to the fighting draw in the first Test in Christchurch as the blueprint, proof that resilience changes their complexion entirely.

“You’ve seen in the first Test, when we take responsibility, and one or two people put their hands up and dig deep, we look like a different side.”

The West Indies will take on New Zealand in the third Test at Mount Maunganui, starting on Wednesday. (CMC)

CTUSAB supports new minimum wage

Nationnews Desk
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CTUSAB supports new minimum wage

The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) has welcomed the announcement by Minister of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector Colin Jordan of a new national minimum wage and a revised hourly rate for security guards, saying it reflected Government’s commitment made when wages were last adjusted in June 2025.

In a statement, CTUSAB noted that “Government at that time promised a further two per cent increase as of January 2026, thus, effectively establishing a new general rate of $10.71 per hour and that of $11.66 per hour for security guards.”

The trade union body said its position on wage increases had been consistent. It recalled comments made by its president, Ryan Phillips, at a press conference on May 13, 2025, following the proposal of a new minimum wage earlier that year.

At the time, Phillips said: “It is to be expected that any upward adjustment in the minimum wage would enable the most vulnerable to have access to the decent living wage.”

CTUSAB said that statement underscored its support for increases in both the national minimum wage and sectoral wage rates. However, it stressed that wage adjustments must be closely linked to the rising cost of living.

“The institution has stated that it maintains that an increase in the minimum or sectoral wage must bear a relation to the escalating cost of living, that is simply borne out in the high food prices, the cost of goods, services, health care, utilities, transport and doing business,” the statement said.

CTUSAB argued that Government’s recent economic performance should allow for more substantial wage increases for vulnerable workers.

“CTUSAB contends that given the declaration made by the Government that it realised a bounty in the last financial year and, moreover, that it has recorded 17 consecutive quarters of economic growth, this should position the Government to be able to share a greater piece of pie with vulnerable workers.”

According to the union body, there is a disconnect between Government’s fiscal claims and the level of wage increases.

“Government’s share of the economic pie is therefore inconsistent with its pronouncements of its fiscal performance, which speaks to both surpluses in both the overall and primary balance.

“This, along with the claim of a strong economic performance as this relates to GDP growth, leads to an expectation that the Government can provide a more realistic increase in the national minimum wage rate,” CTUSAB said.

The organisation also pointed to the wider public sector, adding: “It is now left to be seen how the Government will treat to rewarding the public officers of Barbados, who have been tasked with doing the heavy lifting, towards ensuring the restoration of the economic and fiscal stability of Barbados.”

(PR)

Every cent will be accounted for, says PM

Carol Martindale
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Every cent will be accounted for, says PM

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is stoutly defending the contents of the Economic Diversification and Growth Fund Bill, making it clear there will be no investment or subsidies given to any foreign company that does not significantly expand employment in Barbados by providing more than 100 jobs and earn foreign exchange for the Barbados economy.

She also said these companies will pay tax at nine per cent and not the reduced rates of 2.5 per cent declining to 1.5 per cent that existed previously.

In a statement yesterday to this newspaper, Mottley said the Bill was designed and would be implemented with clear objectives – to protect and grow jobs, enhance foreign and domestic investment and grow the economy for all Barbadians.

‘Plainly political’ “A lot has been said publicly about it, much of it highly emotional and in some cases plainly political. I understand why some people may feel uneasy or a bit confused when they hear only the loudest voices, but once we slow down and look at the facts, a clearer and more balanced picture emerges,” she said.

The Prime Minister said it was important to note that Barbados and Barbadians would be the net beneficiaries from the operations of the fund.

“It has been designed for the country and its citizens to win, not lose, in an increasingly hostile global environment for small states,” she said.

Mottley added: “At the same time, local companies continue to benefit from a number of supports. As mentioned before, small businesses enjoy much lower taxation at 5.5 per cent. In addition, where applicable, they have ready access to supportive entities such as the Industrial Credit Fund, the Agricultural Development Fund, the BEST Programme for Tourism and the Small Hotels Investment Fund, to mention a few.

“On the issue of governance and administration, the system could not be stronger, nor the process more transparent and independent. The legislation makes it clear that every cent taken into the fund and subsequently spent will be accounted for.

“The fund is administered by the Accountant General and audited by the Auditor General. The Advisory Committee is extremely broad-based and includes key public servants and members of the private sector. The minister acts on the advice of both this committee and the National Growth Council, all of whose members are outside of Government and the partisan political class. These are the clear guardrails that have been put in place to protect the public interest.”

The Prime Minister said that at the end of the day, this Bill was about saving real jobs and securing new ones, while maintaining and improving the instruments the country already has for local companies to benefit in tangible ways.

Unacceptable

She noted that under the previous Democratic Labour Party administration, foreign international business companies (IBCs) were taxed at a rate of 2.5 per cent or less, while local companies were taxed at 25 per cent. This arrangement, she said, was considered by international regulators to be unacceptable “ring-fencing” in favour of foreign companies and it placed local companies at a significant disadvantage in their own country.

The Mottley Administration, she said, addressed this imbalance.

“Today, local small business companies are taxed at 5.5 per cent, while all other companies – foreign and local – are taxed at nine per cent. Foreign entities now pay a much higher rate than they previously did,” she said.

However, she pointed out that if Barbados does not take other steps to keep itself attractive to foreign investors, it stands to not only lose companies already operating here, but could also become unattractive to new investors.

“Simply put, if we do not act now and act decisively, hundreds of jobs could be lost and millions of dollars in tax revenue wiped from our revenue streams. So the question becomes: what can we, as Barbadians do to encourage foreign companies to invest in Barbados without risking blacklisting or undermining our tax policy under OECD [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development] rules?

“Our courageous tax reform has already brought substantially more revenue. More will come this year and next year. We have shared part of this with Bajans. We must, however, also reserve a portion of this to remain competitive and attract significant businesses and sectors to attract more jobs for Bajans and to earn foreign exchange to keep our economy stable,” she said.

Mottley said the answer was to design a policy that strikes a careful balance – one that maintains the country’s reputation as a globally competitive investment jurisdiction, while staying firmly within acceptable international norms on taxation.

“The reality is that the old days of granting foreign companies tax concessions to artificially reduce their tax liability are over,” she said.

The Prime Minister further stated that the Bill was designed to address that specific challenge.

“It augments the options available to us to keep Barbados attractive for investment that earns foreign exchange, creates jobs and still provides tax revenue for the country,” she said.

Beneficial

“We have had to move to an option like this for foreign companies but even so, we have ensured that local companies with a foreign presence can also benefit. Other local companies will continue to benefit in different ways through existing mechanisms.”

Regarding the contents of the Bill, Mottley said to those who believed this was not the right time to do this, “we simply say, there is no wrong time to do the right thing for Barbados and Barbadians”.

(CM)

Shipments ‘delayed’

Josue Ramirez Nelson
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Shipments ‘delayed’

A move away from shipping via the United States (US) has led to delays in the arrival of some holiday stock for importers. 

Manager of Abeds, Eddie Abed, said that in a move to avoid the high costs of US-imposed tariffs, they opted to ship from other markets in Asia and Europe, which are longer routes. He said fewer than five per cent of their imports now came out of the US. 

“The importers in this country have had absolutely no choice but to find different source markets ever since these tariffs went into effect in America,” Abed said.

“The knock-on effect was going to add an additional 20 to 50 per cent – depending on what the commodity was – to the retail prices in Barbados, so that was never going to be an option. So we had to find new
source markets.”

Explaining the delays, he said that a container from the US to Barbados would traditionally take two weeks between sailing and the clearing of goods. Other markets like Europe, South America and the Far East could take anywhere from four to ten weeks. 

“Like every other logistics in the world, this time of year, once we get into peak season it’s congested, so delays happen. That has been the result, not only for Abeds, but other importers who found that they’ve had delays of containers, especially as we got into late November and into December,” he added. 

Abed noted that while they were well stocked and had enough merchandise on the shelves, the delays of the shipment would leave retailers with seasonal stock at a loss.

“If it’s seasonal stock you really have very little choice but to hold it for an additional eight months until the Christmas season rolls around again. If it’s stock that sells throughout the year, then you treat it like any other inventory, and you put it out on your shelves, and it will take care of itself, hopefully, during the course. 

“If it’s something that sells throughout the year, but there’s a demand for it, primarily in the season, then you really have to kind of shake your head and figure out what to do. The cost of holding it for a year is just too exorbitant. The cost of replacing it is going to be more, so many of us will just take it at a loss and discount it to get rid of it,” he added. 

Additionally, they have faced no mentionable delays with clearing goods from the port compared to last year. 

Meanwhile, businessman Andrew Boyce said while they also had not faced any shipping delays for their Christmas goods, they were scaling down on shipping from the US and also looking elsewhere.

“We can’t circumvent it, everybody will be affected to a large extent. The wholesalers are going to be affected and they will pass it down to the retailers so we can’t avoid that . . . That is goods out of the US and we have to search for alternative sources,” he said. 

Efforts to reach president of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Paul Inniss, were unsuccessful.

AfDB funding Morocco’s airport expansion  

Sherrylyn Clarke
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AfDB funding Morocco’s airport expansion  

Rabat – The African Development Bank (AfDB) said on Friday it would lend Morocco 270 million euros ($316 million) to finance upgrades to the country’s airport infrastructure in time for hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Morocco plans to invest 38 billion dirhams ($4 billion) to increase overall passenger capacity at its airports to 80 million by 2030, from 38 million currently, as it prepares for a surge in tourist arrivals ahead of the World Cup, which it will co-host with Spain and Portugal.

Morocco, Africa’s most visited country last year, has already set a new tourism record in 2025, reporting 18 million arrivals by November compared with 17.4 million for all of 2024.

The loan will help expand passenger terminals and modernise equipment at airports in the key tourist hubs of Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier and Fez, AfDB said in a statement.

The financing brings AfDB’s total commitments to Morocco this year to 1.3 billion euros, reinforcing the country’s position as the bank’s largest client.

Morocco is also expanding the fleet of its state-owned carrier Royal Air Maroc to strengthen its role as a regional hub, connecting Africa with Europe and the Americas through its Casablanca base. (Reuters)

US landing military aircraft in Santo Domingo

Sherrylyn Clarke
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0
US landing military aircraft in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo – The government of the Dominican Republic has authorised several United States military aircraft to land in the country in the coming days as part of an operational support deployment in the Caribbean. 

The aircraft will have temporary permits to operate from restricted areas at San Isidro Air Base and Las Américas International Airport. 

The cooperation agreement covers surveillance, transport, and technical support missions.

Aircraft expected to take part include the KC-130 tanker and the C-130 Hercules, two of the U.S. Air Force’s most versatile and widely used platforms. 

The C-130, in service since 1954, is one of the most successful military transport aircraft in history. Designed for rugged operations during the Cold War, it has been used in conflicts such as Vietnam and Desert Storm, as well as major humanitarian missions in Haiti, during Hurricane Katrina, and in global disaster zones.

The KC-130, introduced in the 1960s, serves as a tanker and logistics aircraft, enabling aerial refuelling for fighter jets, helicopters, and drones. 

It has supported operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, as well as nighttime special operations and personnel transport.

Although the authorities have not disclosed flight schedules or the number of aircraft involved, their deployment in the Dominican Republic may support maritime and aerial surveillance, movement of sensitive equipment, logistics for regional security operations, in-flight refuelling, and transportation of technical personnel. 

The mission is said to be part of ongoing security and technical cooperation agreements between both countries. (CMC)

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