Expand offerings

An official of the local tourism stakeholder body says the association is cognisant of the need for the island to expand its tourist attractions offerings.

Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Roseanne Myers made the point as she revealed that the industry has in fact seen some attractions close. The Chairman, then alluding to the importance of tourists having places to visit and activities to engage in while on vacation, acknowledged that the decrease in the number of attractions is a matter that seriously needs to be looked at and addressed.

Her comments came she said it is equally important that the attractions sector and those interested in offering such services, are fully aware of all the incentives available to them. Myers was speaking yesterday afternoon as she and the new Chief Executive Officer of the BHTA, Rudy Grant, paid a courtesy call to The Barbados Advocate.

“There are incentives that can be accessed by the attractions sector, and one of the things we discussed is really trying to promote what they are... Part of our challenge [is] to work with Government to say you’ve done a really good job in terms of offering us in principle, but unless we can say to everybody we’ve gotten them, they are working, it is going to be very difficult to convince new attractions, new anybody to come. We want to pave that way as well because we need more, we need more, we need more of everything,” she maintained.

With that in mind, she said it is essential that the Government agencies that manage carrying capacity, conduct a carrying capacity study so that they are aware of what the island requires relative to all aspects of the industry.

During the visit as the BHTA duo met with Advertising Manager, Sandra Clarke and News Editor, Dorian Bryan, they also expressed the Association’s appreciation for the newspaper’s support and coverage of their events over the years. Speaking on behalf of The Barbados Advocate, Clarke pledged continued support for the BHTA and its work and used the opportunity to highlight the importance of the tourism sector keeping locals abreast of what it has to offer by way of entertainment and dining offerings. She made the point while suggesting that there appears to be a dearth of activities for Barbadians to engage in.

It was a point that Myers endorsed, as she indicated that promoting the in-house entertainment at hotels was something they could do more of, even as part of the staycation effort going forward.

“We have phenomenal restaurants, most of them still run a local special, but if you don’t know about it, you cannot ask… We need to expand the staycation to more than just stay,” she stated. (JRT)