What is a reasonable time for a study to be completed?
In today’s (Sunday 9th December 2007) Advocate on page 3 (Minister) ‘Lynch (picture of Minister Lynch on the right) while making a number of observations on the industry, also pointed to a study which will seek to determine the economic benefits of condominium development versus that of traditional hotels’ He continued ‘The jury is still out on the true economic impact of condo development and whether that development is truly replacing hotel rooms in Barbados’. ‘The study will investigate condominiums, villas and their relationship with sustainability and overall tourism development relative to their impacts on employment, seasonality, traditional hotels, marketing of the destination, contribution to the economy and government revenues and the non-accommodation sector.
But wait a minute, what was the same Minister saying over two and a half years ago?
In an article headlined ‘Unwise for Government to knock condos’,
published in the Daily Nation 15th June 2005, Minister Lynch stated
‘Government would be foolhardy and irresponsible to refuse new tourism initiatives like condominiums, based on arguments not backed up by statistical evidence’.
‘Foolhardy and irresponsible’!
(Minister) Lynch went on to say “Government could not ignore such new and essential hospitality concepts based on the whimsical non-scientific notion of big people pushing small people out when there was no empirical evidence to substantiate this’.
He said ‘there had been no evidence offered to show condominiums were replacing or pushing out small hotels’.
‘No evidence’.
Well, could the Minister please explain why some 27 mostly small hotels have closed their doors over the Governing duration of the ruling party?
Here we are, 30 long months, two and a half years later, with the Minister still to conduct a ‘study to determine the economic benefits of condominium development versus that of traditional hotels’.
Is this responsible tourism planning or a ‘foolhardy’ approach to our number one industry?





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