Slight decline in UK arrivals linked to EU withdrawal

Barbados may be in for some challenges this year in terms of visitor arrivals and airlift, but one Government Senator who is directly involved in the industry is reassuring Barbadians that the island’s tourism agencies are actively seeking new markets to keep the industry on an even keel.

Speaking during debate in the Upper House on the acquisition of land at Harrismith, St Philip, Senator Rudy Grant said that while internal surveys undertaken by the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) showed a less than one per cent decline in occupancy in December 2019 when compared to the same month in 2018, the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union – commonly referred to as Brexit – was likely to have an impact on arrivals from Britain.

Grant, who is Chief Executive Officer of the BHTA, noted that already fewer British visitors were flying in, and those who did were spending less time in the island.

“The certainty of Brexit has brought uncertainty,” he said. “Now, I have seen an increase in the value of the pound [sterling] lately, but we now see people are a lot more cautious as to how they spend money. In the past, a family – parents, children and grandparents – would come and stay on the west coast or a villa and stay here for two weeks. But now the numbers are decreasing, so sometimes it is just the husband, wife and children, not the extended family, and they are not spending as long, so this will have an impact on our revenues.”

Senator Grant also noted that two major airlines operating out of Florida were changing their flight schedules, which could also cause some fallout.

“From April this year, JetBlue will no longer be flying out of Fort Lauderdale, and American Airlines is predominantly having two flights out of Miami on mornings, instead of one in the morning and one in the evening. This has implications for us because someone from the west coast of the United States will now have to overnight in Miami to get into Barbados, and then overnight in Barbados before heading out to Miami in the morning,” he explained.

Senator Grant revealed that the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) was therefore examining new markets, such as Scotland and Ireland. He said a delegation from that agency held a road show in both countries last September, and would be returning to Ireland for another one between March 10 and 13.

“They will be going to Cork, Belfast, Galway and Kildare. So, while the BTMI is looking at ensuring we continue to engage in the necessary marketing actions in our established source markets, they are looking to expand into new markets as well,” he said.