A Caribbean hotelier is calling for a comprehensive review of airlift within region.
Ralph Taylor, chairman of The Soco Hotel says the regional market is missing out on dual destination bookings from visitors due to the exorbitant cost of airline tickets and difficulties associated with travel.
The former president of the Caribbean Hotel Association was speaking Saturday afternoon at the University of West Indies Alumni (Cave Hill) Symposium entitled Taking The Region Forward: An Alumini Perspective.
He said travelling throughout the Caribbean is difficult and expensive for islanders and international visitors.
“We need to address not only airlift to the region but airlift within the region. There is the need for a comprehensive review of international airlift to the region and the consideration of a regional carrier in international markets,” Taylor said.
“There is a dire need for a regional carrier to operate at a competitive price to drive regional business and create international linkages at a price point and with realistic connections to be a force in the global arena. Competitive pricing would encourage tourist to take duel destination holidays, an opportunity that is largely lost at present due to the complexities of booking . . . There is a huge opportunity that is being lost because of the challenges that we have with regional travel.”
Taylor said the average airline ticket to travel to Barbados and an Eastern Caribbean state is between US$250 to $500 and 50 per cent of the airline cost is being sustained by regional governments, noting that this is dampening regional travel.
He noted that in 2017, 660,000 visitors came to Barbados but only 103,000 of those visitors were from other Caribbean islands.
“This has been a killer in regional travel and the international connections. This is a damper to regional travel when prices to Miami and New York [are] at a competitive price to buying a ticket to St Lucia. Governments should waive all taxes in regional travel in the interest of the big picture,” Taylor said.
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"ALL INCLUSIVE HOTELS", problem Number One.
Here is a little information from a survey done by Travel Mag.com on the cheapest double rooms that could be found in the Caribbean for the month of February. The cheapest that could be found on St Barts was $324 USD. Making them the most expensive destination surveyed. The winner of the cheapest of the cheap for that same period was Domincan Republic at $43 USD. Volume Market vs mass market it's that simple. This survey was done 2 years ago but the example is clear even for today.Barbados was not even in the top 3 most expensive at
the time either.
For those that think Barbados can not attract and hold the high end I say this. Ask the management of Sandy Lane Hotel what percentage of their occupancy in December and January are repeat visitors and you would jump when you hear how high that percentage is in peak season! But yes I agree this gun violence must be curtailed as a priority for sure.
JOHN says :
Do you want 10,000 people in town with their hands empty or do you want 3000 all with items purchased locally in their hands at a total value of $300,000?
Ossie : Great point out also John.
CARL HARPER says :
Bajans like it just the way it is!
Ossie Moore: Bajans love it just the way it is . . .that's right.
Tourism is eventually going to "kill' Barbados ( no pun intended ) and eventually will be a nasty word in Barbados. . . . . . why ?
I'll tell you why . Barbados has marketed itself for years and years as being:
The Gem of the Caribbean _ The most beautiful Island on earth _ Land of the sea and sun _ BIM _ Little England .
Well now the crime rate in Barbados has surged so rapidly that the Tourists are now going to Cuba , Guyana, Grenada , St .Lucia , St.Kitts and all of the other Islands that Bajans call " THE LOW ISLANDS "
The Barbados tourist people aren't going to say this publicly, but they know that the big tourist decline in Barbados is underway. Anytime soon now you can expect press conferences from the Barbados tourist in which they are going to say ( as always ) :
" THIS TOURIST SEASON IS GOING TO BE A BUMPER TOURIST SEASON "
But if you tell Bajans that crime is killing the tourist season they are very quickly are going to go into denial and say that " crime has no impact on the tourist because crime is bad all over the world "
Okay , but for an island that markets itself as The Gem of the Caribbean _ The most beautiful Island on earth _ Land of the sea and sun _ BIM _ Little England . . . .crime does make a difference.
Bajans , wunna tink de tourist stupid , wunna tink de tourist doan follow de news in de Caribbean . De tourist know more bout wha gine on in de caribbean and buhbados more than most bajans do. stupse . . .
Donald I agree with you on that. We are a small destination with limited assets. The problem is the last government went behind headcount and not spend. We need to move the emphasis 180 degrees and concentrate on spend, even when we are comparing periods. In other words when we speak about a quarter performance wise, let's stop reporting " that 80 thousand people visited" and instead say 60 million dollars was spent. We can not compete with mass destinations like the Dominican republic but we can hold our own on the other end of the market if we start concentrating and marketing towards spend. Do you want 10,000 people in town with their hands empty or do you want 3000 all with items purchased locally in their hands at a total value of $300,000?
DONILD TRIMP
@OSSIE MOORE – you are missing the point big time.
The issue is with “el cheapo” tourist who visit Barbados and spend virtually noting. Black or white, those are the tourist Barbados can do without.
Ossie Moore : Okay Donild , fair enough and thanks for pointing that out .
@OSSIE MOORE - you are missing the point big time.
The issue is with "el cheapo" tourist who visit Barbados and spend virtually noting. Black or white, those are the tourist Barbados can do without.
The best thing to happen to this industry to date is the departure fee. I am of the opinion it is too low, should be higher than the $75 USD.
Well said Carl Harper because I see that Caucasians are called tourists while regional travelers are called foreigners from the low islands, something that have been subtly programed into the Bajan psyche. Customer service is dished out on different levels depending on skin colour and accent. Then we have our regional leaders getting on the act of this gross disrespect. After using the tax payers money to run the airline, the same tax payers are charged high airfares with additional taxes to visit our regional neighbors.
LIAT & CCJ, problems from day One. Just remove the Politics and thing will move smoothly.
A 20 minute LIAT flight from Barbados to any CARICOM destination should be US$125.00 with one checked bag and a carry-on.