Barbados´s Government to Help BWIA out of Crisis

Barbados´s Tourism Minister Noel Lynch stressed his government´s intention to bail British West Indies Airways (BWIA) out of a longstanding crisis and pay off a debt of undisclosed proportions.

Mr. Lynch, who attended sessions of a blue-ribbon panel under the title "Caribbean Tourism: Beyond Sale of Seashells at the Beach," reminded participants that BWIA -with flights to Cuba, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and other short-hop destinations- "must do everything within its power to turn the tables and start getting good results," Mr. Lynch explained.

In the same breath, Jean Claude Baumgarten, chairman of the Tourism and Travel Council, said there´s "an urgent need to implement a Caribbean transportation system to complete the service offered by foreign air carriers."

"Regional companies need to do more teamwork in order to provide good shuttle service between some markets overseas and the region, as well as to better distribute traffic toward smaller destinations in Central America and the Caribbean," a vehement Mr. Baumgarten expressed.