‘Embrace Crop Over events,’ says Divi Southwinds General Manager

Barbados Crop Over has spiked and it is clear that the party market in Barbados is growing, but are we doing enough in Barbados to embrace this niche?

 

This spike can redound too many in society, from taxis, dancers, and artistes to vendors but complaints have been rampant in terms of noise, traffic etcetera. 

 

Is there a balance to strike?

 

The Barbados Advocate spoke to General Manager of Divi Southwinds, Alvin Jemmott, who indicated it has been a great Crop Over, he said, “Crop Over for Divi was great, we had full occupancy and a diverse group of visitors from the different source markets, USA, UK, Canada, and the Caribbean etcetera. 

 

“There was an increase from last year of about five per cent. 

 

“Furthermore, there was a lot of participation from visitors and many of them took part in the festival.

 

“Crop Over is to the benefit of all Barbadians, and where things benefit the wider population we need to have a more embracing heart.

 

“We started August positively. As a country we had to deal with the slow period in September and October but I believe we will be on good footing – even with the challenges such as Brexit. 

 

“There are a lot of positive things happening and I am part of a delegation going to the UK to sit down with our partners. Next year we are designating the year to sports tourism and will have many activities.”

 

Jeffrey Roach, CEO of the Bridgetown Cruise Terminals echoed similar sentiments while speaking to Business Monday at the launch of the Rum Café last week at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Complex, he noted, “This was a huge Crop Over, people from all over the world taking part in the events. 

 

“We have to ensure when people come to events that we deliver memorable experiences.

 

“One of the problems that we face is a lack of appropriate party venues in Barbados that are not close to residential areas. 

 

“Therefore, you will get some noise, but we need to sell to all people the benefits of these events, and it is not something that will be all year around. 

 

“There is definitely a boost at this time and people are coming to spend money which benefits the economy. 

 

“We need to get our people to understand, we need to embrace it.” 

 

In terms of the Bridgetown Cruise terminals business, he explained, “we are now in the slow period, however we expect a further increase with the season that starts in November this year – any increase is good. One of the things that we as a country need to focus on is to encourage our guests to spend more. There are a number of things that we need to do to spur spending. Persons often look for souvenirs that are indigenous to the destination, and we need to have a lot more of our Barbadian-made products well positioned for persons to buy.” (NB)