Tourists arrivals continue to soar

Tourism occupancy is inching closer pre-pandemic levels, but existing travel protocols are affecting the country’s competitiveness as a holiday destination.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Rudy Grant revealed that there was a 20 per cent increase in December 2021 when occupancy rose to 65.8 per cent over the same period in 2020. However, it remained nearly 10 per cent short of the 75.7 per cent recorded in December 2019, months before the pandemic struck.

Making matters worse, according to Grant, is the fact that revenues are approximately 43 per cent of the numbers recorded in 2019.

“The critical performance marker of Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar) is approximately 46 per cent of what it was in 2019. This clearly signals that the road to recovery for the tourist industry may still be two or three years away,” said Grant in a statement released on Tuesday.

He noted that the recent five match T20 series between England and West Indies was particularly profitable for “A” and “B” Class hotels and Direct Tourism Services (DTS) like car rental companies and restaurants.

“Barbados has benefited from the return of significant airlift. While the global average for the return of airlift to tourism destinations is 60 per cent, Barbados has had the benefit of more than 90 per cent of the airlift returning,” said Grant.

“Most of the aircraft are coming to Barbados with high loads which demonstrates significant confidence in Barbados as a tourism destination,” he added.

On the other hand, the “airport experience” has been flagged as a “persistent source of concern”.

“Against this background, we will shortly be recommending to the Government of Barbados, through the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, changes to the Barbados Travel Protocols in a manner that maintains our competitiveness while ensuring that health and safety are not compromised,” Grant explained.

He added that whilst the outlook for the remainder of the season remains promising, the COVID-19 environment remains fluid. Stakeholders are therefore contending with the possibility of tourism being negatively impacted at short notice.

.“The Barbados tourism industry is on the rebound but is still faced with many challenges and great uncertainty. The industry recovery must be assessed in a holistic manner that takes account of all the variables in this dynamic environment,” Grant concluded. (KS)