No windfall for many from Thursday’s increased cruise arrivals

By Jenique Belgrave

The 9,500 cruise passengers who arrived on this island’s shores on Thursday did not result in a financial boom for many of the business people around the Bridgetown Port.

When Barbados TODAY visited the area yesterday afternoon, there were no taxis waiting outside the facility. However, as they allowed visitors to disembark the ship, others indicated they had several scheduled pickups to make,
many nevertheless expressed disappointment with the experience.

One taxi operator, who did not wish to be identified, said the expected hike in business from the five cruise ships that arrived had not materialised.  

“It is definitely not the outcome we were expecting. Most of the tourists who came out said they were told that they could walk to town or to the beach and so they chose to do that, so we only really got the few who wanted to go to specific locations,” he said.

Another noted that the tour operators were the ones who benefited the most in these circumstances.

“All of these ships are here and watch and see all the tour vans coming out full of people so the small men like me have to hustle,” he observed.

It was a similar situation for those at the Pelican Craft Village and those selling along the Princess Alice Highway.

“Business is the same as always. It is slow, slow, slow. Some days are better than others but this one was not good at all for me” said one street vendor. 

Vice-President of the Barbados Arts Council Rena King said the traffic through the gallery had been slow throughout the day. 

“We had a few more people come in, but it has been the same as normal days,” she said, while expressing hope that more could be done to encourage creatives into the space as many of the shops were empty.

Another shop-owner stressed: “They said we would get 5,000 people on Wednesday and 9 500 people today but look. They all walk down Trevor’s Way and don’t come here and the few that do come in and buy things always say they had no clue we were here.”

Meanwhile, the two bars at the village appeared to attract most of the visitors, with several seen lounging around before making their way back to the Port. 

 jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb