Tourism sector to take off again

Barbados’ strong showing in tourism arrivals ahead of the peak winter tourist season seems to be reflecting what is happening across the region, despite the COVID- 19 pandemic and health travel advisories issued by the United States.

This is being backed up by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA), whose president Nicola Madden-Greig said the regional body was expecting the sector to flourish over the coming months.

She noted that this was against a backdrop of strong health protocols and increased air lift to the region.
In a recently issued statement Madden-Greig said her optimism was despite an especially difficult season last year as stakeholders battled with the pandemic.

In Barbados, there are predictions of much improved tourism results despite earlier reports of numerous cancellations due to rising COVID-19 infection numbers.

And the CHTA head voiced optimism that “the worst of it has been contained” as she highlighted the work of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and other regional and international organizations and ministries of health in the various member countries.

According to a statement from the CHTA, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which recently reported that the Caribbean is recovering faster than any other region in the world with tourism’s contribution to GDP expected to rise more than 47 per cent this year.

In contrast, the global economy is set to receive a 30.7 per cent year-on-year increase from travel and tourism in 2021, representing US$1.4 trillion and mainly driven by domestic spending. The Caribbean region’s forecast increase represents an increase of nearly US$12 billion, driven by both international and domestic travel spend.

WTTC research also suggests that at the current rate of recovery, the region’s tourism sector could see a further year-on-year rise of 28.7 per cent in 2022, representing a boost of US$10 billion.

Madden-Greig, who is also Group Director of Marketing and Sales of The Courtleigh Hospitality Group in Jamaica, also applauded Caribbean tourism stakeholders for speedily setting up health safety training programmes for staff, which resulted in a well-trained tourism sector workforce alert to the dangers and knowing how to avert them.

“We’re ready and able to receive visitors safely,” Madden-Greig said. The senior tourism official noted industry partners were ensuring that staff had benefited from safety training in the region and protective measures were implemented to deliver an excellent and safe customer service experience.

“Our success is also dependent on the ability of our source markets to continue controlling this pandemic as the world collectively seeks to recover and move back to normality,” she continued. (IMC1)