Concern was raised on Friday in the House of Assembly about the seeming differential treatment of locals attending tourist spots.
It came from Minister of Home Affairs and MP for Christ Church East Wilfred Abrahams as he asked Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill what was being done on this score as well as to encourage greater participation by locals in the tourism offerings.
In response, Gooding-Edghill, a former tourism executive said he was a big proponent of continuous training and development despite the natural warmth and hospitality of which Barbadians were known.
He described human resources as a critical element in delivering the kind of service with which all customers can be satisfied.
The St Michael West Central MP said the National Transformation Initiative (NTI) was delivering important training. However, he outlined that the Florida International University Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management was also expected to play an important role in training for the sector.
He told the Lower Chamber that the release of tourism workers from the job to undertake training was critical, and they should also be assured of being paid during the period they undertake training.
On the question of access and involvement of Barbadians in the tourism product and activities, he agreed that some hotels had reported success with their staycation promotions during the summer period.
He explained that the issue remained how to create “appropriate rates for Barbadians”.
Gooding-Edghill said the issue of rates was entirely in the hands of the hotels, though he acknowledged that there were some periods such as at Easter when room availability was challenging because many locals had booked stays.
Also addressing the involvement of local participation in the tourism product, the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI) Chief Product Development Officer Marsha Alleyne said the agency had been encouraging hotels, restaurants and attractions to offer more specials and preferential rates to Barbadians.
Meanwhile, the tourism minister reported that thousands of Barbadians are flocking to the Harrison’s Cave Eco Adventure Park in St Thomas, and more tourism-based businesses can also benefit from that level of patronage.
He praised the work of Chukka, the Jamaican company that now manages the operations of the cave.
“The Harrison’s Cave Eco Adventure Park in 2022 had approximately 15 000 locals going there. In 2023, we’ve had close to 19 000,” he said. “When you look at the number of long-stay tourists and the number of locals and cruise ship passengers who go through there, it tells us a story that there is a market, particularly during the summer periods.”
“You can see that the locals do play an important part in contributing to the number of customers who go through. I am sure that we can replicate that in restaurants and watersports and hotels.”
Source: IMC1
