One of this country’s leading real estate moguls is predicting a major boom in high-end visitors, as soon as British tourists get the “green light” to travel.
Managing Director of Altman Real Estate Sir Paul Altman told Barbados TODAY that although many tourism players are currently “tinkering on the brink of insolvency”, market indicators are suggesting that projects like the Barbados Welcome Stamp Initiative have opened the door for a major increase in high net worth long-stay visitors.
“We depend on tourism and once we get the green light out of the United Kingdom which is our main source for tourism traffic, we are going to see people coming here and investing here and holidaying here,” an upbeat Sir Paul declared.
“I think we have to fight our way through this last leg of pain which means getting us through the rest of this year. And then unless there is something else that happens, God forbid, the outlook is very positive.
“The future is that Barbados, first of all, realises that under tourism, we can’t be everything to everyone, so we talk about sustainability. The opportunity is at the higher end of the market because… we want the ones that can afford to come here,” he added.
He explained that during the over 15 months of the pandemic, Barbados has been able to showcase its infrastructure, high quality of life and quality establishments that can attract the high spenders.
In addition, the managing director of Altman Real Estate explained that the types of visitors eyeing our shores are also expected to be more environmentally conscious.
“The 12-month passport has become a big item and that is leading into more types of people who want to see themselves based here, working from here, investing here, and employing people here.
“These things would not have happened without us going through the pain of the pandemic, because we have opened up our eyes to the reality that we can attract people that make a difference, that really produce less garbage, damage the environment less and want to build things here that are sustainable. People that understand the meaning of low carbon emissions, that understand the meaning of not leaving the carbon footprint, but contributing and living a life that we all want to be a part of,” Altman contended.
He explained that while the majority of interest is coming from the country’s main source markets in the UK, USA and Canada, the country is poised to explore a broader segment of the market.
So optimistic is Sir Paul about the future, that he made an open invitation for investors from Dubai about the possibility of creating islands off Barbados.
“The one thing that Barbados has is tourism and the one thing that Dubai focuses on is tourism. So why not get the experts from Dubai to come here and help us build this offshore island that we keep talking about?” Sir Paul asked.
“So I issued an invitation for the investors from Dubai to come and help us with developing an island or several islands offshore. That is what they have done there,” he added.
The respected businessman also weighed in on the current situation affecting businessmen and workers in the industry. He noted, “The hospitality sector has suffered. Many of them are sort of tinkering on the brink of going into receivership. It isn’t all success and glory,” the businessman admitted.
“Investors in Barbados have had a very difficult time because of this lockdown and because of the failure to allow travel. You have to be really strong to survive and the other spinoff from that is that a lot of workers have had to bear the brunt of the pain.
“So yes, I think we always have to recognise where we have had problems, but also recognise where we have new opportunities. So there is a real reason to be saying that the spinoff to workers is not as much as it should be, but there is nothing to spinoff.
“I’m not saying that all operators of businesses are perfect in terms of how they manage their operations, but generally speaking, I think Barbadians and foreign investors here recognise their obligation to workers and wherever they can, they try to meet those obligations.”
Sir Paul expressed confidence in a “new entrepreneurial class” among the youth who are much more involved in ownership and management within the sector. (kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)
