The company that manages Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) is implementing initiatives to earn extra revenue to be self-sustainable, including offering services outside of Barbados.
Chief executive officer of Barbados Conference Services Limited (BCSL) Charmaine London said the management company has been working with the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) seeking to attract more business in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) market.
She made the disclosures on Wednesday as she responded to questions during the Estimates debate in the House of Assembly after Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding-Edghill said BCSL had not needed budgetary support from the Government since this administration took office in 2018.
“We’ve been working collaboratively with our industry partners and event producers to produce our own events because we really cannot only depend on booking short-term events with our local clients as well as our overseas clients,” London said, noting that in addition to managing events at the LESC, BSCL has been managing events at other local venues.
“One of the main things that we’re looking to grow as well is the audiovisual and technical services which we offer to all the venues on island as well, as well as off-island. We have a portable system…which is a conference discussion system…. We have used that along with our technical support and very highly trained technical persons to offer that service to meetings not only here on island… but also in Dominica, Antigua and St Lucia so far.
“We have diversified in a way so that we can increase our revenues,” London disclosed.
The CEO said on the savings side, BSCL is exploring acquiring a second photovoltaic system, which will further cut the electricity bill, the company’s biggest operating expense, and reduce its carbon footprint.
The first system has resulted in the company seeing an approximate seven per cent reduction in the electricity bill.
“We are investigating a power factor correction unit which will further reduce our costs by about 12 per cent. So, what we are doing is looking to increase our revenue while at the same time reducing costs so that we are not a burden to the government purse. Once we do that, we will obviously not…compromise our service to our clients,” London said.
She also disclosed that the more than 25-year-old LESC is being upgraded “to modernise it as well as to make it more aesthetically pleasing and also to meet the trends and international standards”. (DP)
