Submitted by N and R Gordon, Ottawa , Ontario , Canada
We are Canadian tourists who started coming to Barbados in 1973. For the last ten years we have been coming yearly. We tend to self cater but have stayed in small intimate hotels in less touristy areas. We love the climate, the people, the safety, the pure water, the excellent medical care, the local fish, the beaches…..all of it EXCEPT the GARBAGE.
This year we came on a last minute trip mid-Nov to mid-Dec. We walked daily from Accra Beach area to Carlisle Bay/Pebble Beach. On this journey we passed the derelict hotel that is a major eye sore between some lovely condos and hotels and very much a tourist route. This ugly place should be boarded up and on these boards your brilliant artists could paint murals to cover such a nasty sight. This hotel has been like this for years . Likely squatters are living in this place which can be worrisome for night time walkers coming back from perhaps Blakey’s, Tapas, Naru’s, KFC or Accra Hotel …..not ideal for Barbadians or tourists.
On another note we can’t understand why garbage pick doesn’t seem to be a top priority in busy tourist areas. Accra Beach area has many tourists gathering to enjoy the lovely beach and facilities but the garbage pick up in the dumpster or pails needs to be done daily. Tourist buses pass this beach area daily. How can you encourage tourists to stay longer in Barbados if they see garbage, derelict hotels , empty ruined historical/heritage homes enroute to their destination.
Every day we walked from our self catering apartment to Pebbles Beach and every day we passed the garbage piling up on the road from Savannah Hotel to the Hilton Hotel. What is the point in paying people to rake the garbage only to have the animals and birds pulling it all apart and blown about again.
So for two weeks we watched as the piles got worse and spread everywhere and the bugs collected in the heat. This route is used by those walking in some shade vs the beach, tourists from the two hotels on either end, surfers, tennis players……whoever. But even the garbage on the opposite side of the road beside the military fence is not touched ….it just gathers everywhere.
You can’t have pride for your country if you don’t CLEAN UP. The south coast is a busy area of locals and tourists. This can become a project for the school children/church groups/community groups to share in KEEPING BARBADOS clean . But whatever you think you MUST do something as it’s quite disgusting.
There are far too many other cheaper destinations for tourists to spend their hard earned dollars and they won’t come if they constantly see garbage.
Another worrisome sight was the sea grass all over Silver Rock and Silver Sands Beach. Silver Rock beach is famous around the world for kite surfing and piles of sea grass does not help their sport. We walked these beaches during our stay in mid-Nov to mid-Dec…..with sadness. We love these beaches but they looked dreadful. Piles and piles of this grass which does not allow anyone to use the beach plus it is full of flies as the sun bakes the grass. Barbados has some of the most beautiful water and sand in the world. But folks wanting to kite surf off this beach will be quickly turned off coming if the sea grass is not raked up. Perhaps by now the grass is gone and we do understand some nasty storms can bring in this grass with high tides but if the sea does not take it out then workers MUST take it away.
Sadly your country needs all the tourist dollars it can collect. Sugar cane is no longer needed in the world economy, banking is slipping away so until the country re-invents it’s industry, tourist dollars is the only thing that keeps this country afloat.
So PLEASE take us serious…when we plead with the gov’t to come out of their bubble and believe us . It is very frustrating for us…to see how easy it would be to make this island even more beautiful.
Remember not all your tourists go to the West Coast or Gated golf resorts or All Inclusive Gated Hotels…..many of us self cater or stay in small hotels….which allows us to mingle with the Barbadians.
We worry for your island as many are not returning. We will be returning again Mid-Feb to mid- March so hopefully I will see NO garbage on our daily walks and the sea grass is gone on Silver Rock beach.
Thank you for allowing us to express our worrisome opinions.
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