EDITORIAL - Let’s keep up the good work

Earlier this week during the debate in the Senate on the Appropriation Bill, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, Irene Sandiford-Garner relayed to fellow senators and Barbadians in general, the successes that have been recorded in the tourism industry in recent times. She noted that as efforts have been made to diversify and advance the industry, they have been seeing excellent performances, with 2017 being another record year for the local sector and it is expected that 2018 will follow suit.

This is no doubt welcome news, especially given the tough economic times the country has been experiencing. Certainly, if destination Barbados remains on a strong growth path, there are good things in store for the island, as it is tourism that we depend for our foreign exchange.

Among the highlights for the industry was the 4.4 per cent rise in visitor arrivals between January to November 2017, when compared to the same period in 2016. During that period, we saw some 588 821 visitors descend on these shores, with only United Kingdom and Germany recording declines of 1.5 and 5 per cent respectively. At the same time, we saw an increase from the United States. That dip in the arrivals from the UK and the rise in the arrivals from the US has caught our attention, as it has the public and private sector stakeholders in the industry.

We would be foolhardy to ignore the fact that the United States increased by 11.5 per cent, surpassing the United Kingdom as our major provider of tourist arrivals last year, and we have to watch this development closely to see if it becomes a trend. If so, we may be required to tweak our marketing strategies and our tourism product to ensure we are properly catering to the tastes of those visitors. Of note also is that Barbados saw more visitors coming to these shores from Canada and CARICOM.

These increases are due to a combination of strategies, including the establishment of new gateways out of some of the main markets, and the Ministry and the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. must be commended for the hard work they have put in to help the industry to bear the fruits we have and will all benefit from. Indeed, every attempt must be made to ensure that the industry continues on this growth path, so we can hopefully in 2018, see the country boast double-digit increases in all its major markets including those that saw declines last year.

We must also commend the work done to increase Barbados’ cruise business as well. It was pleasing to hear that cruise arrivals jumped almost 15 per cent, and we have no doubt that if we continue to see ships the likes of those which made inaugural visits this year, going forward, we will do even better in the years ahead.

It is with all that in mind that we commend those in the accommodation sector, who have been improving and renovating their properties or building new properties, for doing their part. It has always been a complaint that our properties are a bit old and tired, but with all the work that has been done and is currently ongoing, those complaints are certainly on their way to being a thing of the past. What we must ensure then is that the requisite environment is maintained to allow these property owners to stay on top of their game as that is guaranteed to be of tremendous benefit to our country.

We also agree with Senator Sandiford-Garner and join in her call for additional attractions or activities to come on stream for the tourists’ enjoyment. That can help to promote destination Barbados as the best vacation spot in the world.