Mild winter season form Barbados tourism

Bridgetown._ The President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Allan Banfield described as soft the winter season, which should have been the most lucrative period for the hospitality industry in this Caribbean island, The Nation daily reported.

Banfield said the season which began mid-December and ended on Sunday April 14, saw hotel occupancies decline by as much as 15 per cent and he expects that this month will show a drop of eight to ten per cent.

Banfield told the Barbados Business Authority that since the start of this year, arrivals from the island’s main tourist markets dropped considerably – by 10.8 per cent in January, 16 per cent in February, and 4.7 per cent in March.

Overall, tourist arrivals to the island fell by 12 per cent in January and February and by 1.1 per cent in March.

In the Dominican Republic, he said, the rate being quoted at an all-inclusive hotel was US$70 per nightcompared to between US$120 to $350 for a room only in Barbados.

However, he noted that Sandy Lane and other high-end properties still enjoyed good occupancy since they catered to a wealthy clientele.

“People at that level tend to be more recession-proof,” Banfield said.

The BHTA president said that Canada was the most rapidly declining market – down 13.2 per cent in January, 14.8 per cent in February and 19.9 per cent in March.

“The Canadian market is very price sensitive not to mention the fact that they are also feeling the effects of a recession,” he explained.

He said the British market which accounted for 43 per cent of the island’s tourism business up to last year, was now in recession and greater effort wouldbe placed on increasing seat capacity with charter services.

He said the strategy of increasing seat capacity had been working in the United States market which has been showing signs of a recovery.

There was a 4.7 per cent increase in visitors from the United States in February and 17.5 per cent increase in