May 2015 Financial News

Record tourism first quarter (Barbados)

May 28, 2015

The first quarter of 2015 saw some 171,471 long stay visitors come to these shores, an increase of 15.1 per cent over the figures recorded for the corresponding period in 2014, making it the highest on record for a first quarter in 25 years. 

Word of this came yesterday morning from Chairman of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), Alvin Jemmott during a press conference at the Hilton Hotel, to update the media about the first quarter performance. Jemmott added that all three months also recorded double digit increases in arrivals, with the month of February recording the highest increase at 20 per cent. 

“January recorded 56,209 arrivals; February reached 57,815 and March realised 57,447 visitors. This was a very strong winter season. The Caribbean Tourism Organisation has predicted a five per cent increase in long stay arrivals for the region for the entire year, and we believe our performance in this first quarter bodes well for us to comfortably exceed this target,” he said. 

Adding to this, Chief Executive Officer, William Griffith explained that while they have not yet ascertained the economic impact of those tourism arrivals, the average spend is estimated to be in the region of US $185 per person, per day. 

Meanwhile, the BTMI Chairman explained that some of the factors behind this “resurgence in demand for travel to Barbados” include not only an increase in airlift across Barbados’ major source markets – Canada, the United States and United Kingdom, which were negotiated by the BTMI, but also improvement in the economies of those source markets; the low price of oil, which has reduced the cost of doing business for the country’s airline and cruise partners and the strong reputation Barbados has maintained among its partners worldwide. Moreover, he said the solid marketing strategies that the BTMI has implemented in each market was also a contributing factor and he explained that going forward, the market development strategy will serve the country well by reducing the exposure to economic shocks in any given market. 

His comments came as he referred to the Economic Impact 2015 Barbados Report of the World Travel and Tourism Council, which indicated that in 2014 the total contribution of travel and tourism to the Barbados economy was $3.4 billion or 36.1 per cent of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Jemmott said that this figure is expected to increase by 3.4 per cent per annum to 41.6 per cent of GDP by 2025. 

“In 2014 the total contribution of travel and tourism to employment in Barbados, including jobs indirectly supported by the industry, was 35.7 per cent of total employment or 45,000 jobs. This is expected to rise by 1.8 per cent per annum to 55,000 jobs or 42.2 per cent of total employment by 2025. We believe Barbados having placed in the top third of the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 is also commendable for a country our size,” he added. 

Also commendable, the Chairman said, is that in areas which are at the heart of this country’s competitive advantage, namely safety and security, health and hygiene, and ground and port infrastructure, Barbados out performed larger destinations including the US and Canada. With that in mind, he said they will continue to focus their marketing messages around the country’s strengths to set it apart from lower priced destinations, especially taking into consideration that the report also drew attention to the country’s price competitiveness as a destination. (JRT)

Source:
Barbados Advocate
Thursday May 28, 2015

http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=local&NewsID=43674