Adrian Loveridge – Hotelier
Some months ago the Barbados Tourism Authority finally published a list of licensed hotels and a limited number of other accommodation providers. Sadly, I only saw it in the press and failed to understand why the agency did not post this latest listing on the official website, where the majority of the end users could access this information at any time prior to booking.
There seems absolutely no point having a national website unless it is maintained. A simple example is that three months after being granted unilateral extraordinary concessions Sandals Barbados does not yet appear on the visitbarbados.org, accommodation section. In fact, the site is so far out-of-date the location is still shown as Casuarina Beach Club, even ignoring its brief history as a Couples Resort.
It is quite frankly staggering the array of alternative accommodation that is widely advertised on the Internet, with absolutely no indication whether these properties meet the same insurance, fire and health requirements that our registered lodging offerings are required under law to comply with. What is also alarming is the number of establishments that make no mention of VAT (Value Added Tax). Could it be their annual revenue gleaned from rentals does not meet the minimum trading threshold of $80,000 per year.
In a surprising number of cases nightly rentals exceed US$400 a night, so a total of 100 nightly lettings annually would already place them in a VAT liable situation.
There could also be at least two other explanations. That many owners rent their individual properties through a villa/apartment/condominium agency, who then charge and account for any VAT element, or payment is collected offshore and therefore due taxes are avoided altogether. According to the Laws of Barbados – LRO 1997 – CAP. 342 section 25 (1)
‘No person shall operate any tourist accommodation unless that person first applies for and obtains a licence issued in accordance with the regulations’.
Section 33 (1) states ‘a person who operates any tourist accommodation in contravention of Section 25 is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10,000 or to imprisonment for 1 year and, where the offence is continued after conviction, that person is guilty of a continuing offence and is liable to a fine of $500 for each day during which the offence is continued’.
If tourism accommodation rental licensing remains a function of the BTA perhaps it would be cost-effective for Government to put more resources into what has clearly been an underfunded Quality Assurance department for as long as I can remember. From a marketing perspective, it also must be almost impossible to maximise arrival number potential and length of stay without having an accurate database of all lodging options. Government could easily recoup any additional expenses by levying a small registration fee and this would enable them to ensure that all minimum standards are met and effectively demonstrate the industry is properly regulated.
Once this takes place, I am sure the administration will then cast the tax net over a greater number of players and the monies raised from this exercise could be utilised to increase marketing of the destination, benefitting more people and showing some willingness by the policymakers to level the playing field.
Hi Adrian I agree with your post what you say is a 100% true.Barbados also needs to wise all level or things will never change.
This is the tip of the iceberg AL. Let us take a purely hypothetical situation:
Suppose you had a successful hotel chain with 20 hotels in 7 islands. With their booking call center in one island, the head office in another and the revenue collected in another. Suppose, just suppose they decided to show the seven island governments a hugely discounted revenue picture (the VAT is based on what they show), how would the tax offices know? Which Caribbean tax office today has staff capable of analyzing hotel rates ? more so, complicated all-inclusive pricing?
Also, instead of paying the 10% service charge to their workers, this chain paid only 2% of revenue collected, how would the staff know? How could the unions know?
Does this go in some small way to tell you why the Barbados Almond Resorts never made it in the super league – even with full occupancy.
@Adrian
Can you publish the January arrival numbers?
Sith,
sorry not released (officially) yet and the Barbados Statistical Service has not even posted December 2013 todate.
Well said JG
I do not see where Onecaribbean has posted December 2013 stats
am WE ALREADY KNOW ! YOU say this almost every day.
why not stop writing and fix it . get ya hands dirty and fix it skipper.your comments getting thin.no body dont really want to hear your nonsense.
why?????? because you are white.ok. you understand now. should i repeat it for you slowly? sheasheeeeeeeee
Looks like Butch will be spending some needed USD in Barbados shortly:
@David
It is good news that there is going to be some investment but what is needed is a commitment to transfer these US$ to a Barbados bank and then spend them on Barbados made goods such as furniture which can be paid for in Barbados$. For a scheduled 10 months there are going to be zero tourists staying there.. They are going to be directed away from Barbados to spend their money in other locations. It certainly would seem to make more sense to rebuild the other “Sandals” location first that we have been told is going to happen.
@SITH
We can revisit the concessions given to Sandals but butch has been given leeway to import much of his materials.
David – you beat me to the gun; I was about to post a comment including links to:
http://www.travelagentcentral.com/barbados/sandals-barbados-close-temporarily-65-million-makeover-44538
and
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/sandals-barbados-to-begin-redevelopment-in-april/
It is interesting how the Advocate cut and pasted the Sandals Press Release, adding “The re-opening is scheduled for December.” and deleting “Guests can relocate their existing booking to any of the other Sandals Resorts and Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts in Saint Lucia, Antigua, Jamaica or the Bahamas, excluding Sandals Emerald Bay, Sandals Royal Plantation and Sandals LaSource Grenada, including any associated airfare change fees, subject to availability”
What interests DD is “the wide-ranging renovations will include the introduction of seven new gourmet restaurants bringing the total to ten”
280 rooms, 560 guests, 10 restaurants?
Over the years, DD and Mrs. DD have stayed at each of the former Almond properties in Barbados;l including Casuarina, which at the time had three dining areas. We took advantage of the all-inclusive meals about half of the time and dined elsewhere – high-end, rum shops, Oistins etc. the other half.
I do not recall at any time having to wait for meal service at Casuarina due to lack of capacity in only 3 dining areas; so cannot understand why they need 10 restaurants for a maximum of 560 guests.
Unless; the 10 restaurants, or some of them, (Butch’s Chophouse, French-style patisserie Café de Paris, ‘Soy’ Japanese sushi, and Sandals first ever Indian restaurant), will be open to the tourists and locals not staying at Sandals.
That would be very bad news to the other restaurants in the area.
This Sandals thing just gets curiouser and curiouser
Sith and DD,
So it looks like we will have to wait until at least December 2014 to witness the ‘seismic change’ and ‘increased airlift’ that the Minister of Tourism promised that Sandals would bring us. Meanwhile, Sandals will be re-inforcing airlift to our competitors by switch selling booked Barbados clients to alternative Sandals locations. Meanwhile where will all but 100 Sandals Barbados staff find jobs and sadly they wll not qualify for unemployment, holiday pay or NIS benefits due to length of service.
Carson Cadogan responded to this column on Caribbean News Now and stated that Air Canada will be increasing their flights this summer due to the presence of Sandals. Could someone please inform him that in FACT Sandals Barbados will close their doors on 1st April will a possible re-open date of December 2014. So Sandals Barbados will clearly not be driving ANY additonal airlift until at least December 2014.
280 rooms = 560 guests at 100% occupancy
So approximately 100 arrivals per day.
Assume Canadians = 25% of guests so 25 Canucks arriving any one day.
And Air Canada will be increasing their flights to accomodate 25 Sandals guests daily.
Do not think so
Barbados Island Inclusive ‘free spending’ promotion re-launched, but BTA link still shows 2013.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1300185/the-barbados-island-inclusive-package-is-back-take-advantage-of-free-spending-money-on-island
Government sending 3,000 home, because of fiscal constraints.
BUT, apparently BTA budget has money to spend
The “Barbados Island Inclusive” package gives “free spending money” of US$200.00 per person to Canadian tourists staying 7 days.
Furthermore, for the 26th straight year, the Breakfast in Barbados promotion, of which BTA is a sponsor (with Toronto radio station 104.5 CHUM FM, Air Canada Vacations, Radisson Hotels International, and CIBC VISA) is sending 70 “lucky winners” to Barbados for a week in April.
In 2014 Radisson Aquatica Resort is the host hotel. In 2013 Tamarind was the host hotel, in 2012 Hilton hosted, and before it closed in 2011, Almond Beach Village was the host hotel for the promotion.
In the current economic climate it is understandable, but still a shame, that no locally owned hotel was able to sponsor the rooms for the 70 guests and the CHUM/BTA entourage.
The promotion includes tickets to “the biggest Concert Barbados has seen”; featuring Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, and MAGIC!. Why not Mikey, Blood, RPB, krosfyah, Ian Webster, Lil Rick or any of many other fine Barbadian artisites. The 2013 Concert, was held at Holders. I guess this year they will need the Oval for “the biggest Concert Barbados has seen”
@DD
The 3,000 as opposed to to spending on tourism ; you are comparing apples with oranges. Be real !
Chaucer
Agree there must be spending on tourism..
But sponsoring 70 “lucky winners” in Canada to spend a week in Barbados, just does not seem the best use of the marketing budget in Canada.
According to Totally Barbados, that promotion started in 1986, and has been held every year since then.
Doing the same-old, same-old, for 28 years just does not make sense.
DD thinks it is time for a change.
Sandals/Beaches are bombarding Toronto/Canada with newspaper and TV ads for Grenada, Antigua, Bahamas, St. Lucia etc.
Apart from this CHUM give-away promotion which runs for about 8 weeks; Barbados/BTA is invisible in those media
In the interests of balance, I thought it useful to post the long stay visitor arrivals from Canada over the last 11 years:
2003 – 49,641
2004 – 50,032
2005 – 47,690
2006 – 49,198
2007 – 52,981
2008 – 57,335
2009 – 63,751
2010 – 72,351
2011 – 71,953
2012 – 72,020
2013 – 67,276
This contracts dramatically from long stay visitor arrivals from the USA which have shown NO overall growth whatsover of the last 6 months.
@Adrian
Your conclusion is that our marketing machinery in the US is weak or should we put it down to a US economy which has struggled in the last 4 to 5 years?
@Adrian
Who are our BTA representatives in the US?
Who are leading these agencies Adrian?
David,
My conclusion is that our marketing in the US is far worse than weak. Of course the economy is a factor, but in that case our neighbours would also be suffering to the same degree as Barbados. Largely they are not. The US has for a long time received the lion’s share of the BTA budget, but simply has not performed.
Across all markets January 2014 has recorded the first long stay visitor increase in 22 months and virtually all that growth came from the UK (up 1,455 pax) . Canada up 50 persons. USA down again.
We have to spend our limited resources in areas where we can make a difference.
The BTA has two offices in the USA (New York and Coral Gables) with the single largest staff and expenses outside Barbados.
Campbell Rudder currentky in the USA and the former Head of the USA was Urban Cumberbatch who is now the acting President/CEO of the BTA based in Barbados.
Sorry- currently…
Thanks Adrian. Do you know how long they have been in the office?
The Barbados Tourism Authority Welcomes Campbell Rudder, Vice President Marketing, USA
The Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) has recently appointed Campbell Rudder as the new Vice President of Marketing for the United States, bringing a fresh approach to the strategy within the market.
Charged with steering the BTA’s US team into further achieving increased visibility for the island, Rudder confirms that through his appointment, he aspires to sustain the upward growth trend coming out of the market, while endeavoring to create new opportunities for the destination.
“I am pleased to be a member of the BTA team and look forward to enhancing the overall vision and performance of the tourism sector through tactical and focused strategies. These tactics will further lead to increased passenger arrivals to the island, along with boosting economic growth within the overall tourism sector.”
Since the beginning of 2011, the BTA has shown significant growth with a 5.5 per cent increase in arrivals at the end of March out of the US market, equating to an increase of 2043 visitors to the island over 2010.
sources told me that Barbados Sandals is part of a week long promotion on a popular game show in the USA ,
SITH | February 3, 2014 at 1:58 PM |
@Adrian
Can you publish the January arrival numbers?
Sith if Adrian Loveridge did not publish the January arrival numbers it means the numbers are up. That’s not the news Loveridge wants to hear or broadcast. The cruise arrivals based on the ships one sees in the port and busy smiling taxi drivers tells a story of big numbers. We wait for Loveridge to publish the long stay arrivals for January.
January 2014 long stay visitors are indeed up, recording the first growth for the last 22 consecutive months. It’s good news, but really only out the UK market. It’s the subject of my Tourism MATTERS column 17th February 2014. I have repeatedly stated that I do not cover the cruise ship passengers numbers because factual information is limited and that only LANDED passengers play any significant part in the economics.
David,
USA long stay arrival figures to compare:
2003 – 129,326
2004 – 129,664
2005 – 131,005
2006 – 130,767
2007 – 133,519
2008 – 131,795
2009 – 122,306
2010 – 134,969
2011 – 142,414
2012 – 130,762
2013 – 120,626
As you can see, 2013 recorded the lowest US arrival numbers for 11 years.
@ Foriegn exchange | February 7, 2014 at 8:07 AM |
“The cruise arrivals based on the ships one sees in the port and busy smiling taxi drivers tells a story of big numbers.”
So if you are earning all of this foreign money why the need to borrow other people’s money to protect the dollar from devaluation?
If blood (forex) is flowing around the system (economy) why is the patient hemorrhaging so profusely?
Why dismiss thousands of workers?
Don’t you think the sending home of thousands of people in their productive years would lead to social unrest that could see the same tourists being robbed and accosted leaving a bad taste in their mouths and “blacklisting” the country as a desirable destination?
Don’t you think your time will be better spent getting the authorities to clean up pissy-smelling-garbage-strewn Bridgetown and its environs? Even grass is growing in Broad Street; with many parts of Bay Street a haven for rats and the breeding of mosquitoes.
Oh what a pretty picture of old Historic Bridgetown you present! More like a shanty down to most visitors who dare to journey near the Bus Terminus or to look across at the Empire Theatre/Cinema building looking like a bombed out shelter in some war-torn place.
That should certainly impress the tourists and encourage them to spend money at the small businesses where the multiplier effect with be better felt throughout the local economy.
How effective was Mr. David Rice at BTA? Is it true he came and found at debt of around two million annually (2007 World Cup cruise ship thing) and left the BTA in debt to the tune of around $42 million? Is it true that for over four years the BTA overseas offices have been starved of marketing funds and hence alack of presence in the markets? Is it true that 1/3 of the budget went to airline guarantee agreements?
miller,
don’t hold your breath for credible answers.
Roverb,
But still enough left to purchase/lease Luxury Audi SUV Q5’s.
American Airlines made it known to its Barbadian staff that it would be coming off the New York route effective April 2011.Why did the BTA wait until they came off the route in Jan 2014 to go to Trinidad to have CAL return to serve Barbados and New York.This is the height of our winter season and all these plans should have been put in place ages ago.The BTA is very shoddy in its strategic planning.It appears more reactive than proactive in its decisions.The BTA as currently put together is reflective of the Fatted Calf mentality with old castaways and has beens along with some biologically confused personalities involved at a very high level.
Yes u can take numbers and intrepret them any which way to prove a point. looking at the period between 2003 and 2007 the industry generated 654.281 US tourists.. and betwen the period of 2008 -2013 782,872 were generated …….showing an increase of the last five year period of 128,591 I meaning showing numbers is an exercise in futilty as with any business the customer is the driver and determines how and what is spent… One can shuffle and reshuffle it is just nonsenical and economic rubbish.
AC you fool, 2003-2007(inclusive) is 5yrs, 2008-2013 (inclusive) is 6yrs. You sure you went to school?
ac,
you must think we are ALL stupid, comparing 5 years with 6!
Nice try ………
@ Revealed | February 7, 2014 at 10:48 AM |
What do you expect from ac a yellow yard-bird with a brain the size of a pea who agrees with the MoF there is no difference between 0.7% and 0.07% on a person’s land tax bill.
In her eyes (and from the MoF’s mouth) there is no difference between an additional annual tax bill of $700.00 and $70.00 on a piece of land with a ratable value of $100,000.00 for a pensioner on a fixed income or for some of the thousands soon to be fired from the public sector.
The point which Miller made is valid. At a macro level we are not generating adequate forex and if tourism is our #1 (some say only) forex earner then we continue to have a problem.
Don’t mind ‘waiting’.
Based on the Jamaica Observer article at the following link. I guess DD his it all wrong about Butch. He sounds like the best thing since sliced bread for the Caribbean.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/-Butch–Stewart-in-recession-busting-mood-_15578910
‘Butch’ Stewart in recession-busting mood!
First Grenada, then Barbados, now Antigua getting new resorts
Thursday, December 05, 2013
GORDON ‘Butch’ Stewart’s Sandals Resorts International (SRI) this week announced it will spend US$125 million in bringing one of its world-renowned Beaches Resorts to Antigua-Barbuda, the fifth in the Caribbean.
SRI, parent company of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts and Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts, on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Antigua for the building of the Beaches Resort in Long Bay near the capital St John’s.
The announcement marked a turning up of the tempo in a year of relentless investment by Sandals in the region this year.
Beaches Barbados is set to break ground in the middle of next year and the hugely anticipated December 21 launch of Sandals LaSource Grenada will coincide with the start of the 2013-2014 winter tourist season. Earlier this year, SRI opened the US$120-million Key West Village at Beaches Turks and Caicos.
In this investment, Sandals and Stewart have come full circle, Antigua having been the first country to get the Sandals brand outside Jamaica.
Beaches Antigua, a family resort, will be built on the site of the company’s existing Grand Pineapple Resort and will boast one- to four-bedroom accommodation and suites, up to 12 restaurants, conferencing facilities and “a wide range of exhilarating and unique features that include a waterpark, cinema, Xbox Play Lounge and BMX track”, said SRI Chairman Stewart.
The resort will triple the existing Grand Pineapple workforce to 700, in addition to providing hundreds of construction jobs, a familiar feature of the billions of dollars in investment pumped into the region by Sandals.
“As a country, Antigua is very dear to our hearts because it was the first place we went when we ventured outside of Jamaica in 1991. This particular deal has been a long time coming — we’ve been discussing it for over three years — but it is well worth the wait,” Stewart told the signing ceremony. “Antigua is a stunning country and we’ve enjoyed no end of pleasure operating here. It’s often said that there’s 365 beaches in Antigua, now there’s another!”
Stewart paid tribute to the visionary leaders of the three countries, noting: “The Government of Antigua-Barbuda, much like their counterparts in Grenada and Barbados who have also implemented pro-business policies such as this, should be applauded for demonstrating such vision and boldness.
“For our part, you’ll find a Caribbean company over-delivering. “In Grenada, we pledged to increase the hotel’s inventory by 80 to 105 rooms and we built 125 of the best suites you’ll ever see in your life. We said we’d employ 100 – 325 construction workers and we recruited almost 1,500. We said we’d create 335 hotel jobs, we’ve recruited 560. We promised to spend US$100 million in the next 10 years. Thanks to the support of the Government, we’ve spent $80 million in the first year alone.
“We would hope that each of the three new countries we are expanding into will feel the economic benefits of us being there,” the Sandals boss added.
Oh yes, and Butch owns the Observer.
“Beaches Barbados is set to break ground in the middle of next year” That would be 2014 – BUT Bernie Weatherhead has the property tied up until May 2015.
“Stewart paid tribute to the visionary leaders of the three countries” Stuart, Sealy and Sinkler must be the visionary leaders in BIM.
I am basing my information on the numbers you Adrien gave .WTF….those are your numbers 2003-20013 no U think people are stupid….. u can go back now and do some more crunching to include 2014.. i understand your objective however in this case it has not work.. BTW barbados Sandals is enjoying a week long promotion on Wheel of fortune….u van check your sources for confirmation For the good news.
ac,
Your posts get more and more stupid by the minute. Now you want to compare 2014? Well I can tell you that US long stay arrivals in January 2014 were DOWN. You deliberately tried to mislead people and got caught out. Apologise or keep quiet.
Adrian
An article in The Sunday Sun of AUGUST 22, 2010 said
Barbados seems poised to receive substantial tourist arrivals and investment from China. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Maxine McClean, indicated this yesterday during an address to the 55th annual conference of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). McClean said that in its new diplomatic initiative Barbados had gained “a very positive” response from both Chinese investors and prospective travellers and this was expected to translate into a boost in arrivals and in Chinese investment.
Barbados Today January 15, 2014 article “Bim wants more Chinese visitors” said
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart wants to see more Chinese tourists coming to Barbados.Stuart expressed this wish recently when China’s new ambassador, Wang Ke, paid him a courtesy call at Ilaro Court.
He told the envoy and her delegation: “We have great interest in seeing Chinese nationals travelling to Barbados and taking in the cultural and other offerings. As we deepen our relationship, I hope more Chinese visitors will come here and I want to see also an increasing number of Barbadians going to China.”
Do you know what progress is being made with the substantial tourist arrivals Barbados seemed poised to receive from China in 2010?
NO adrein _ put up tourist numbers showing periods from 2003 -2013 i understand your objective to show where there were increases and declines..it is also obvious that in these periods there were different administrations.. BLP from 2OO3 -2007 andDLP 2008-2013 and currant..going by these five year periods and different administration those figures tell a different story than what u want to protray. i never asked for 2014 to be included i just thought it may have served u well for further referance. LOL
U adrien get here on BLP with slants and objectives……apart from throwing numbers in the air u could have done a service by indicating that these figures are inclusive of both parties ..also note worthy that the past BLP administration was enjoying better economic times in that period and was only able to generate 654,281 tourist in that five year period. just be fair and be realistic with an understanding that high and lows are part of doing business
DD,
Sadly, I cannot identify numbers for every year, but if we look at January 2014 as a measure.
Barbados witnessed a decline of 10.8 per cent Peoples Republic of China long stay visitors in January 2014 when compared with January 2013. Down 4 persons from 37 to 33.
Taiwan saw a 100 per cent decline. Down from 4 to ZERO for the same comparable period.
Presumably these numbers include all the investors, embassy staff and workers, as well as simple long stay visitors.
@Adrian
That last post was too funny…lol.
Adrian
Where do get the January 2014 numbers?
Am not surprised at ZERO from Taiwan, given tensions with the PRC and the deepening relationship Barbados has with the PRC
Furthemore under the BLP administration there were also periods of low numbers under the best conditions yet the constant harping takinga look at the numbers the low periods between 2003 and 04 shows a continuation in the following years with small gains…similar to what the DLP is going through at present under harsh economic conditionse yet this side of the story remains covered up as Adrien and others try to fool people that under the BLP govt tourist were arriving in massive numbers
@ac
Please accept the point that other islands in the Caribbean are showing higher growth than Barbados. Barbados is a mature destination compared to others and there is expected to be top of mind and do better than the emerging destinations. The word is that the BTA owes it creidtors a lot of money and therefore cannot make noise in key markets like others are doing. Stop crowing for your supper and deal with the issues. Oh, and leave the analysis of the numbers to others.
David,
I am just waiting for ‘ac’ to put a DLP spin on the Chinese arrival figures.
DD,
I am afraid that I cannot at this stage divulge my source, but had to find one as the Barbados Statistical Service is so tardy in posting them publicly.
Tardy is putting it politely
I, too, am awaiting ac’s spin on the China arrivals, which in 2010 were said to be poised to be substantial
@ Due Diligence | February 7, 2014 at 5:25 PM
Don’t worry, ac will find away.
Even if it means she will seek to argue that an massive increase in Chinese ‘long stay’ visitors could soon be here as soon as the DLP administration is able to borrow the over $500 million from the Chinese to rebuild the old Almond at Heywoods to be called Beaches.
Now whom do you think would be awarded the construction contract for the money borrowed from China if not the State Capitalist Construction Corporation which will be exporting hundreds of low skilled unemployed male Chinese, some of them ex-convicts ,for permanent settlement overseas just like the British did in the 18th & 19th centuries to ‘Barbadoes’ and Australia.
And Miller,just next door in Guyana part of the loan conditions is that Chinese nationals are allowed to open businesses and complete with the existing businesses.
Carson Cadogan man Adrian Loveridge and miller doing the dog since your self imposed absence man come back do and rough up these BLP brass bowls. You know they have a lot of mouth until you arrive then they run like lice and hide.
@ Ruffin | February 7, 2014 at 9:07 PM |
Are you sure you want CCC to return from the dead?
He would first have to explain to the BU family why he so strongly believes the Bajan dollar is seriously overvalued and needs a sharp correction to bring it close to its real value in the market place.
When he has done his Power-point presentation on the “Benefits of the Devaluation of the Dollar; a case to be put” he can then cuss off Estwick for putting his little pick on the Constituency Council on the line. The summer camps gone, the free bus rides going, the D T football tournament blown offside. What part of the decomposing calf is next to be chopped off to feed the IMF vultures?
No Estwick in the Cabinet translates into the fall of the DLP government; unless Lowe beats him to it in a ‘dead’ heat.
The promotion includes tickets to “the biggest Concert Barbados has seen”; featuring Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, and MAGIC!. Why not Mikey, Blood, RPB, krosfyah, Ian Webster, Lil Rick or any of many other fine Barbadian artisites.
++++++++++++
You do realise that Chum’s concert is for the benefit of its Canadian audience don’t you? Chum’s “Breakfast in Barbados” is broadcast in GTA and it will not be changing its format for a week unless it is beneficial for them and none of those Bajan artists will drive Chum’s rating books and its bottom dollar.
A plug for Barbados by Joe Biden
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/6/5387148/joe-biden-laguardia-airport-third-world-country
millertheanunnaki | February 7, 2014 at 6:03 PM
“Now whom do you think would be awarded the construction contract for the money borrowed from China if not the State Capitalist Construction Corporation which will be exporting hundreds of low skilled unemployed male Chinese, some of them ex-convicts ,for permanent settlement overseas just like the British did in the 18th & 19th centuries to ‘Barbadoes’ and Australia.”
You are correct, and they already have Chinados Construction Limited established in Barbados
See article:
Chinados Well In Maximizing Profits At Maxwell.
Posted on July 27, 2011
by Germain
Chi Ching!
At:
http://bajandealsfuhreal.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/chinados-well-in-maximizing-profits-at-maxwell/
And FRI, JUNE 15, 2012, Nation article IT MATTERS TO MARIA: Great wall of Chinados at:
http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/it-matters-to-maria-great-wall-of-chinados/
Which includes:
IT IS not as imposing as the Great Wall of China but residents of Maxwell Hill, Christ Church, are upset about the height of a guard wall that a Chinese construction company has built close to their backyards.
Last year, the Chinese began construction of a huge mansion on land at Maxwell, which they bought, despite claims by resident, David Bourne, that the land belonged to his family.
The Chinese took Bourne to court and won a judgement which ordered him to vacate the spot but Bourne is still living there, while the construction company, Chinados, has built the main mansion next door to his house.
Sargeant | February 7, 2014 at 11:05 PM |
You do realise that Chum’s concert is for the benefit of its Canadian audience don’t you? Chum’s “Breakfast in Barbados” is broadcast in GTA and it will not be changing its format for a week unless it is beneficial for them and none of those Bajan artists will drive Chum’s rating books and its bottom dollar.
You are correct.
The CHUM Breakfast in Barbados promotion, which runs 17 times per day, as well as TV ads on sister station CP24 is all about driving listeners, not about driving Barbados tourism. The listeners who call in are not looking to buy a trip to Barbados, but want to be among “70 lucky winners” to get a free week in Barbados, subsidized by BTA.
I am here reading that “But Senator Sandiford-Garner argued that the employees would not be “seamlessly” taken up.
“The legislation is very clear. You may not have to sign an option form if you don’t want to because there may be other avenues available but the fact remains that all employees will have an option to be employed within the BTMI (Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.) according to their qualifications and no employee will be disadvantaged,” she said.
In his response, Senator Abrahams held firm to his position and continued to quote from the legislation and raised additional questions
“Is it the intention to offer these options before the Proclamation of the legislation. If so, how many of the people are you looking to take on? What are you going to do with the rest? What is the criteria for employment? What happens to their pension rights? What happens to their tenure under the organisation?” he queried.
http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2014/03/12/legislators-locked-in-debate/
Seems to me as an attempt to create two new DEM filled organizations to run tourism. Two new “YES Committee” organizations that will based on pervious “YES Committee” organizations will fail. Senator Sandiford-Garner is suggesting that the management has failed at BTA in terms of having proper appraisals and going through that loophole to hire a mass of DEMS at the two new TOURISM ENTITIES.
Roverb,
you raise some very important questions. Yet another organisation where ‘jobs for the boys’ may be given to people who are simply not qualified for the job at task. And this while we already have the BIDC, Invest Barbados, TDC and BTII.
I also wanted to ask some of these questions, but thought they may be interpreted as ‘impertinent’.
Will we have the spectacle of a failed management team at BTA being returned? Will we have the same type of performance like a website that has been stuck for more than two years? Will we have the same type of management that lead to a moving of a debt of $2 million moving to approximately $37 million under DAVID RICE (who was handpicked by the then chairman)? Will we have the same Human Resource management that lead to a new low in morale at the BTA? Will we have the same Human Resource management that created an environment of favouritism, victimization, and lack of acting and promotional opportunities for staff? Will we have the same management versus staff mentality that exists at the BTA? Will we have the same unresponsive management that saw a steady decline in arrivals and earnings? Will the Current CEO be blamed for the doings of the previous management team under RICE at HQ? Will we have the same type of behavior from the board members who acted as management instead of board members and made decisions to benefit themselves? Will we have the same type of management that became news carriers and generally lacked integrity?