The chief executive officer of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Ryan Forde has urged greater focus on establishing more events and activities during the off-peak season to create more consistent revenue for the tourism industry.
He told Barbados TODAY that the market for hosting events during the summer months is ripe for exploitation, particularly given the anticipated increase in arrivals this year due to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Crop Over festival and other events.
The warmer months have usually heralded a downturn in visitor arrivals from traditional northern markets in Europe and North America, leading to hotel and restaurant closures, renovations for the lucrative winter season, and layoffs of hotel staff.
“All the properties that can accommodate conferences and meetings and events, those are obviously good gems of the island because you are able to bring in dozens to thousands of people specific for meetings regardless of industry,” Forde said. “Having those continuously throughout the summer is going to help us get to the 2019 numbers as well as surpass them.
“Having these added events and conferences are only going to be to the benefit of the country. I think for all industries and sectors out there, when you are thinking about conferences, festivals, events, sporting tournaments and whatnot, start to think a lot about that June to September [period].”
Though official arrival and booking figures for June have not been published, Forde said all tourism industry players have reported high visitor traffic so far. The Cricket World Cup this month has been “a blessing”, he said, expressing hope the boost will be sustained through the month.
Early May data showed booking levels at 55 per cent hotel occupancy, forecast to rise into the 70s by month-end. Some properties anticipated 80 to 85 per cent occupancy during knockout rounds and finals as demand for flights, rooms and transport spikes with finalised team listings.
Forde also welcomed reports of planned new air links between Barbados and Nigeria.
He was responding to a Barbados TODAY report on Wednesday quoting Okechukwu Ihejirika, acting chief operating officer of the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) CARICOM office in Barbados, as saying Nigerian authorities had cleared an airline for takeoff from either Lagos or the capital, Abuja.
Though this is only the first step in the long process towards the first set of flights taking off between the two nations, the BHTA head said that the new air corridor would unlock many opportunities for the island.
“If you have airlift to a brand new market and one that is historically connected to our culture, we would welcome it. There are a lot of cultural norms – we have coucou, our national dish, that comes from fufu in Africa – so there would be an easy transition in terms of the culture in terms of the foods and norms, but then then there are other educational areas we would have to pick up and they would also have to pick up.
“It’s only an added benefit and business for us; according to the statistics, it’s a little bit cooler here in Barbados, so when you look at some of these emerging markets, there is always an interest. Our membership for sure would be very ready to accept tourists from new markets in order to grow not just the numbers but also the relationships, partnerships and experiences on the island.”
