Barbados’ tourism plant could be in for a major boost with the expansion planned for the acreage around Needhams Point including the current Hilton Barbados car park which could be targeted in the capacity build-out of this island’s main industry.
In addition to the expansion of the physical plant, tourism authorities are moving closer towards a PPP (Public Private Partnership) arrangement for the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTMI) with a sustained income stream and investments to support it financially.
These were some of the initiatives outlined in Parliament by Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding-Edghill and his team which included officials of the Barbados Tourism Management Inc (BTMI), the Barbados Port Authority and the ministry on the second day of the 2023/24 Estimates Debate which discussed the tourism ministry.
The minister said capacity-building is the main objective in considering the close to nine acres of land at Needhams Point for the “numerous opportunities” in expanding what Barbados has to offer.
“We don’t necessarily have to have one hotel on one site. Because of the acreage, we can have multiple hotels on that site,” said Gooding-Edghill in reference to the Needhams property. “That is a further opportunity to expand our capacity. At the Hilton, we are ensuring that through the owners’ returns, we continue to gain substantially what we are entitled to by way of the fees we collect from that operation.”
Gooding-Edghill said if the best economic returns are to be realised from investments in the area, offices and carparks would not be prioritized over capacity-building projects, such as rooms expansion.
He referred to seeking investment opportunities with “aligned partners” in the growth initiative.
While posing a question to the tourism minister, Prime Minister Mia Mottley noted the need to “maximise” available plant capacity including at the Hilton location, which she said represent one of the most “mature” sites for the hosting of tourism entities.
Referring to the Hilton’s car park, Gooding-Edghill said: “There is no justifiable reason why that area could not have been, and should be converted into additional accommodation spaces to build-out what I refer to as the Hilton Peninsula. The same applies to other sites we have around Barbados which we have to build-out in order to build capacity. We need a new plant and we are very much focused in that respect.”
The minister’s acknowledgment of the need to increase capacity in the industry, which PM Mottley said had “very little greenfield space” to dedicate to new tourism builds, came after she asked for an update on plans to make the BTMI a public/private entity.
Minister Gooding-Edghill explained that there are plans to broaden the ownership base with the introduction of PPP (Public Private Partnership) to the BTMI.
Gooding-Edghill said that the transitioning to PPP is a key objective for his ministry.
“We have not only to broaden the ownership base, we also have to put the BTMI on a firm foundation going forward,” he suggested.
He noted that on previous appearances at the World Travel Market ((WTM) there were questions on Barbados’ ability to honour debt. These questions went away, he said, with the introduction of “a sustained path of funding” for the BTMI through the airport service charge which allowed the country “not to be embarrassed” at similar subsequent overseas engagements.
He also told the pre-lunch session in the Parliament that a new, more consistent and sustainable model had been devised with the help of the ministry and the marketing arm.
“The reality is that we have to secure, and to have enough revenue coming in, in order to fund the BTMI on a monthly basis and we have a model that we believe can work. The BTMI will definitely have to invest in other ventures and projects that will have a sustained stream, not only of monthly income, but annualized income, and there are a number of initiatives we are seeking to conclude. We are looking, for example, to ensure that we move to the OTAs (Online Travel Agent).
“As we all know there is a major shift away from the operators in most markets. The BTMI’s mandate must include how to drive additional business through the OTAs and we are in discussions with an online platform. We are going to conclude those discussions in this financial year which will allow us, not only to provide a firm booking engine for OTAs, but also to have a sustained revenue position and to ensure that we benefit and sustain ourselves as much as we can.”
According to Gooding-Edghill, who previously worked in private sector tourism leadership, there are hotels in Barbados which have gone this route and they have sustained upwards of 90 per cent business through the OTA option.
“It is cheaper – marketing for sure; it is instant, it’s more effective and it is easier to deal with. We believe this is but one of the opportunities that we are going to have to deal with,” he added.
Minister Gooding-Edghill also noted that with the ever-growing technology era, Barbados will have to step up its game with a cleaner, more efficient database to broaden its strategic and tactical approaches to enhance visitor arrivals to the island.
The PPP model, the minister said, is an opportunity for the BTMI to invest in a range of opportunities across the island to help the tourism expansion drive while at the same generate income to sustain its operation. (SBP)
