BTMI and BTPA to merge

Effective February 4, 2019 the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) and the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA) will be one organisation.

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, Q.C., M.P., first announced last June during the mini-budget speech, that the two organisations will be moving to a public private partnership. The Cabinet of Barbados made the decision to transfer the functions of the BTPA – a body corporate which was established under the Barbados Tourism Product Authority Act, 2014-2 – to the BTMI.

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sunil Chatrani, met with the staff of both organisations on Friday to outline the process for executing the Cabinet’s decision. He said that the changes will come by way of redundancies, reorganisation and transfer of the functions of the BTPA to the BTMI.

The regulatory arm of the BTPA, the Product Quality Unit, which is responsible for the registration, licensing, classification and regulation of tourist accommodations, restaurants and services, will remain in the BTPA until such a time as it can be fully transitioned to the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport.

“We are speaking with staff and the unions to ensure that all processes are followed so that we can properly execute the government’s mandate of moving towards one strong organisation overseeing the marketing and product development of destination Barbados,” Chatrani said.(PR)