IF Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding-Edghill and his tourism entourage who had to perform in the well of the House of Assembly this week were birds, they could be described as fully committed to the job of preening. Responsible for the unbridled enthusiasm from tourism officials is the fact tourism performance (using traditional KPIs) has returned to 2019 level.
Quoting the minister:
When you add a position where we are back to 2019 numbers in critical months and 65 000 seats (winter season), Barbados would have recorded the highest visitor arrivals in this destination and that is what we are working on
Minister of Tourism, Ian Gooding-Edghill
In a nutshell Barbados’s economy is firing again on ALL, meaning one cylinder. More and more some us, usually labeled as negative and cynical by pro government talking heads, are worried the COVID 19 pandemic taught Barbadians very little. To reinforce the point, the recent addition to the Cabinet of Barbados Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment Senator Chad Blackman felt constrained to encourage more businesses to digitise operations or run the risk of being uncompetitive. Why should any business have to be told to add an electronic storefront in this day and age?
The government of Barbados is doing laudable work to cement non traditional links with African countries. Whether it is driven by a continual search for economic opportunity to sustain our way of life or an intrinsic desire to connect with our ancestral lineage, it does not matter. One out of two is a win win given the current state of conditions prevailing in Barbados.
In January of this year the Barbados executive connection to Liberia was updated to the blog. The blogmaster is pleased to learn about a new bilateral diplomstic relations pact signed of this week between Liberia and Barbados. This medium has been strident in calls to build a more resilient economy. Our over reliance on tourism does not reflect well that we are a well educated people. A read and listen to the 2024-2025 Estimates provides little comfort to concerns that a tectonic shift is coming to spur growth in emerging sectors to materially impact our economy.
See relevant links:
- Foreign Minister Nyanti seals historic deal with Barbados; Bolsters ties with Norway
- Liberia: Barbados Preparing for Pilgrimage; Ex-President Sirleaf, PM Mottley on Board for Historic Event
These overtures to create non traditional links by government (hopefully our ultra conservative private sector will see opportunity) are to be applauded but it is time we started to see greater results. Are we working with the urgency of now which our current predicament warrants?
The signing of the pact between Barbados and Liberia comes at an opportune time with the Sankofa Pilgrimage planned for May 2024. From all reports over 400 delegates – all descendents of the original 347 freed slaves who left on the Brig Cora to Liberia on May 10,1 865 – will be in attendance. This could be a seminal event to bring focus on a Eurocentric Barbados that has drifted from its ‘original’ moorings. Thanks to Head of the Sankofa Conference delegation Ambassador Lorenzo Witherspoon who has traced his roots to Barbados for the work being done to make the Sankofa Pilgrimage a reality.
See Joint Communiqué establishing diplomatic relations between Liberia and Barbados.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.