Be patient, tourism players told

Minister of Tourism Kerrie Symmonds is assuring all tourism stakeholders that Government is taking steps to ensure that all Barbadians can benefit from a piece of the island’s bread and butter industry.

In response to complaints from taxi drivers, water sports and recreational operators that they are being robbed of their share of the sector by large tour companies using advanced booking systems, Symmonds claimed that aged-old inequalities are to be blamed for the woes.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a Genealogy Marketplace at the St Lucy Parish Church over the weekend, the Minister said that the problems being experienced by the small economic players were nothing new.

He made it clear that it was not the watersports operators or taxi drivers’ fault that they had not been brought closer to the cruise ship operations.

“These are aged-old inequalities that have humbugged this country and humbugged the small economic players in tourism for 20 years or more. And it has now become our lot to rectify that situation,” he said.

Symmonds disclosed that a pilot programme was started at the Bridgetown Port where 30 taxi drivers have been trained and are now capable of working with cruise lines to have their tours marketed onboard the ships.

He said watersports operators must now be next in the process.

“I hear their plea and I ask them to be patient with me because I am right-sizing a badly constructed system. And part of what we have to do as we go forward is to understand that this process requires us as Barbadians to evaluate ourselves, to look at what we do well and tick that box. But equally, we must look at what we have not been doing very well and appreciate that there is a need for correction.

“And part of the challenge with the taxis as well as with watersports is that the discussion that must now be had is one of how we preserve certain standards that we are able to make sure that we create a level playing field for all people,” Symmonds said. anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb