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Tourist arrivals UP, basic services DOWN

Shelly-Williams

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Ian Gooding-Edghill, Minister of Tourism

Two news items piqued the curiosity of an evergreen blogmaster last week. First, the revelation that local fishermen had to sail all the way to Grenada just to buy ice to meet local demand and feed their families.

The obvious question is how such a fiasco was ever allowed to happen. An official at the market, Eric Lewis – is he the MADD person? – blandly explained that the two ice machine were “under repair,” but could not say when normal service would return. That alone speaks volumes about the state of our public management. We are hopeful that at the time of scribing this blog the two ice machines have been restored to working order.

Then came the second headline, Shelly Williams out, Peter Harris in as chairman of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI). Whether Williams’ shelf life expired or she gracefully exited the stage is left for rum shop chatter. The real story is the PR parade rolled out all week to soften the landing for Shelly Williams’ reentry. It is now the turn of prominent businessman Peter Harris to be rewarded for his ‘support’.

Barbados is set to strengthen its position as a regional tourism and business hub with the introduction of a direct air service between West Africa and the Caribbean.

It is one of the major achievements outgoing Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) chairman Shelly Williams says signals the island’s growing global competitiveness.

She revealed that Nigerian airline, Air Peace, will begin direct service from Lagos to Barbados from May 25, with onward connections to destinations including Ghana and Abuja, cutting travel time between West Africa and the Caribbean to under nine hours. Source: Nation

While we are being serenaded with reports of rising tourism numbers, there’s a glaring contradiction. Visitors are landing in record volumes, yet many are forced to wait an eternity for their baggage because several conveyor belts at Grantley Adams have been out of service and Customs continues to operate with a skeleton staff responsible for ‘sniffing’ the bags before being permitted to be placed on the working conveyor belts. A reminder that glossy arrival figures mean little when the basic equipment driving the quality of service supporting the sector is grinding to a halt behind the scenes.

The tasks for Chairman Peter Harris and his Minister of Tourism, International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill is to review the end to end process at GAIA, and fix it. A note to Minister Gooding-Edghill, can you also fix the drainage covers on the west coast road you had oversight as Minister of Transportation and Works?

There is the adage you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Barbados operates in a crowded and competitive global tourism sector, a business that Barbados over relies and significantly contributes, directly and indirectly, to GDP. Of course it is not just about satisfying the weary and expectant tourist on arrival to Barbados via GAIA, it is also about ensuring Barbadians are happy to have returned home only to have the feeling tempered by long wait times waiting for bags.

If Barbados is serious about competing in a crowded global tourism sector, one that we depend on for a significant share of our GDP, then the basics must work. Ice machines must function. Airport belts must turn. Leadership must be earned, not ‘gifted’ to loyalists. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

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One response to “Tourist arrivals UP, basic services DOWN”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    We’re still waiting!

    Govt urges patience as Beryl aid stalls for some fishermen

    by CARLOS ATWELL

    carlosatwell@nationnews.com

    APPROACHING TWO YEARS since Hurricane Beryl devastated the fishing industry, some fishermen are still not back out to sea.

    However, the Ministry of Environment, National Beautification and Fisheries is asking fisherfolk to continue to be patient with the processing of loans and grants to assist them.

    There are boats in a fenced area along Prescod Boulevard, The City, in various states of disrepair. Fishermen there said they were struggling, and the money promised by Government was not coming in.

    “Two years later and we still fighting. I’m just living off my savings and that soon done. I’ve already put more than $100 000 in trying to get this boat back in the water, but I still haven’t received any payout from Government. I’m told the monies are approved, but I still can’t see not one cent,” Harvey Corbin told the DAILY NATION.

    A fisherman for 30 years, he is in the midst of transferring from the Lady Muriel, a wooden vessel, to the Lady Muriel II, made of fibreglass. He said his original boat was a “beauty” and it brought tears to his eyes when it was damaged beyond reasonable repair.

    Didn’t trust insurance

    “The official term is ‘no longer in use’, but to bring that back is too much of an expense, so I’m transferring to a fibreglass boat. It got surveyed and everything, but I can’t say when it will be ready,” he pointed out.

    Corbin said he did not trust insurance and had stopped paying the premiums.

    “It’s $20 000 a year for a boat. We had a meeting with [an insurance company] and we demanded some kind of compromise or we done. So, we done with that, but to make things worse, the fellows telling me the fish ain’t catching like before, so our earnings are down.

    “Costs and prices keep going up. The longer they take to give us that 25 per cent, then soon you won’t be able to buy much with it,” he said.

    Another fisherman, who declined to be named, lives in his boat after his home was destroyed in a fire. He said he is surviving thanks to his family.

    “I got a little something from Government but that was supposed to be monthly and it stopped. Right now I got to put in a new keel and was hoping to be on the water in a month, but now the engine giving problems. We really need help, but nobody telling us anything,” he lamented.

    When contacted, Permanent Secretary David Leacock, said: “There were grants for those who wanted to buy back boats and grants for those who wanted to repair their boat, so there were different contingencies where persons were given grants.

    “We met with the fisherfolk up to [last] Wednesday, and the Minister [Santia Bradshaw] heard from all the fisherfolk what their concerns were. We’ve entered into an agreement with the World Bank for a $50 million loan to assist in rebuilding the Bridgetown fishing harbour, as well as providing funds for those same fisherfolk who were disadvantaged. So it is an ongoing process,” he explained.

    Leacock said the Enterprise Growth Fund Limited was the local agent authorised by the World Bank to disburse loans and grants, and there were currently around 70 outstanding loan applications which were being assessed for issuance.

    He said the major concern was those fishermen who were of a certain age and would not be in a position to take out a 20- to 30-year loan. However, he added, this was brought up at the meeting last week and they were looking at solutions.

    President of the Black Fin Fleet Cooperative Society, Moonesh Dharampaul, confirmed much of what Leacock stated but queried the delay in distributing the money.

    “So, since Beryl occurred July 1, 2024, we’ve had close to 200 boats back in the water, and those boats would have had minor secondary damage. However, we still have close to 80 boats where you had a total loss of the vessel and it could not be repaired. So, those fishermen were offered a loan facility from the World Bank, which was $10 million, and they were asked to apply for these loans through the Enterprise Growth Fund Limited.

    Told money not there

    “It has been a process . . . but since July 1, up to now, we’ve not had a transition from the World Bank into where it needs to be to get it to the hands of those persons who are applying for the loans.”

    He added: “We have close to 20 people who have applied for the loans and they have been approved. But they are being told that the money is not there. I understand that the money is at the Central Bank, but it has to be transitioned . . . . The fishermen are not being treated with enough respect and we need to have a better communication situation with them.”

    Dharampaul suggested a model be used where fishermen should not have to deal with a loan in the first place.

    “In my opinion, being a person who has studied economics, I believe fishermen should have been given boats without the loan facility in place. To justify that, here’s what I’m saying: the fishing industry is one of the few industries in Barbados that has generational wealth . . . [and fish] is a value-added product, from fisherman to vendor to retailer or hotel.

    “That is a value-added product at the end of the day. I think that we have to start looking at food security and supporting the industry by allowing an easier transition into getting those fishermen back onto the water without going through a long, arbitrary process in terms of loan facilities. This was brought up in a meeting with the minister earlier on Wednesday and she said that she’s open to having more flexible options on the table,” he said.

    Source: Nation

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