The theme at our quarterly general meeting just a couple of weeks ago was The Bright Future of Barbados’ Tourism.  We felt it was apt given that 2023 has been a year of significant recovery for our beloved industry. A year where we moved the question, “what next?’ from a place of trepidation and anxiety to one of anticipation and excitement.  

Even the most casual observer of my comments about our industry know of my deep and abiding passion for tourism.  This is not simply driven by global stature of this industry but also by its significant impacts on our island.  The most obvious being its contribution to GDP which was 28.9% in 2019 and currently hovers at 23.8% based on the last measure in 2023.  A contribution that our Central Bank Governor credited with leading the rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic when in his October review of Barbados’ economic performance, he indicated that Barbados had recorded its largest three-quarter economic growth in 17 years as it grew over ten straight quarters.  

We who work in this industry at all levels are fortified by this information.  We know that the work we do every day in this demanding, but rewarding, industry makes a meaningful difference not just to the tens of thousands of people employed in the sector but to all the other sectors that rely on the multiplier effect of the tourism dollar.  To agriculture and manufacturing and retail and distribution.  We therefore also know that this country does indeed bank on us.  It banks on us to continue to deliver, not just economic benefits, but the profusion of other advantages that tourism has brought and continues to bring to Barbados. We deliver these benefits by virtue of the hard work, commitment, dedication and initiative of each person who works in this industry.

With a busy winter season already underway and as we enter this new year we are ever mindful of our deep obligation to this industry and by extension to this wonderful country that we call home.    Based on Barbados Statistical Service the January to October arrivals were 19.1% above 2022 numbers, driven by a strong 22/23 winter performance.  Summer continues to be a concern.  While the total year to date arrivals to October are only 5.2% below 2019, for the summer period of April to October the performance relative to 2019 still trails by 18.1%.  The good news in all of this is the positive year-on-year growth as we move closer to what existed prior to the pandemic.

The year 2023 marked our first full year since our COVID restrictions were lifted here in Barbados in September 2022.  The first full year of normalcy after the travel and tourism industry globally, that is airlines, hotels, restaurants and the entire ecosystem was devastated by COVID-19.  The IMF in its October 2023 World Economic Outlook reminds us it is only “three years after the global economy suffered the largest shock of the past 75 years, the wounds are still healing…”

Yet, even in light of this tourism has again proven, not its fickleness as some like to characterize it, but its resilience.   The IMF has projected that the fastest growing economy in 2024 will be the city of Macao with a projected growth rate of 27.2%.  The economy of Macao is heavily reliant on tourism, an industry that represents over 60% of the region’s jobs, as well as roughly 70% of its GDP in an area a fraction the size of Barbados with more than twice our population and both one of the highest per capita incomes and human development indices in the world. Tourism has also been fundamental to Barbados having one of the highest per capita incomes in the Caribbean and also being one of the highest rated islands on the human development index.  

Next on that IMF list of top growing economies is Guyana with a projected economic growth rate of 26.6% based on oil.  Barbados does not have oil, but we are very expert in the business of tourism and so while we continue to build out our other economic sectors we in this industry, and we are sure in the rest of the island, remain cognizant that Tourism is our business.  As such we are 100 percent committed to ensuring that tourism continues to remain a major driver of our economy and society.  

This winter Barbados will have some of the strongest airlift out of the UK market.  In addition to the traditional and already scheduled airlift, we have new airlines like Surinam Airways commencing service twice weekly, in what they hope will be a year-round schedule.  This is what we really need to keep our industry operating optimally. Year-round airlift and year-round arrivals. 

Some more good news for us as an industry is the upcoming world cup in June 2024 which will give a boost to our summer 2024 in the same way that the recent England tour did to the early part of December.  The world cup is scheduled to run from June 3^rd to 30^th, 2024.  It is our goal to ensure that we the tourism practitioners deliver an excellent experience to all those who come to this island.  This will be the third cricket World Cup that Barbados has now hosted, a feat which few others can boast and one for which we, as a small island, should be very proud.

As we look forward, we recognize that we must move away from the feast or famine that currently characterizes too much of our business and level out the seasonality.  This seasonality affects every aspect of our operations so that many businesses end up spending the money earned in the four months of winter to sustain the operations for the remaining eight.  Only to repeat the cycle again.

Our teams are also profoundly affected by this seasonality, and it is one of the great disincentives to work in this industry.  We want to be able to offer stable year-round full-time employment.  Especially now as we seek to rebuild our human resources capacity coming out of the pandemic.  We who operate in this industry recognize that we have a responsibility to ensure that we continue to  treat the members of our team with the greatest regard for transparency, decency and equity.  We know both intuitively, and from our research, that our people remain our greatest asset.  Our commitment to our teams will therefore continue to be reflected in everything that we do.   

We support the work of all our partners who, through their own hard work and positive example, seek to uplift the many men and women who work in tourism.  We support good legislation, guidelines and standards for our industry.  We are supportive of ensuring accountability and reducing the possibility of disequilibrium in our industrial relations climate.  We are already one of the most regulated industries in the world both by our local governmental agencies, our partners and our customers who, in the era of the online review, have enormous power over our businesses.  There is no incentive for us to be anything but excellent.  We therefore call on all our partners to work with us to model, build and encourage excellence.   Barbados is poised for a bright future, but this can only be achieved if all parties are working constructively towards a common goal.

It is for this reason that we partnered with our Ministry of Labour on the Tourism Job Starts Programme, which is already off to a promising start with more than half of the successful applicants having been placed. Some Job Starters have already been offered full employment and the officials from the Ministry of Labour have signalled the enthusiasm of the participants.  They are motivated and excited about working in the industry.  This is much the same sentiment that many of our teams have reflected as the season has progressed.  People in the tourism industry are excited to see the industry rebounding.  The tourism industry is excited to bring another generation of keen, young talent into our industry at a time when it is poised for recovery and when our industry needs the best and brightest even more.

In 2023 we welcomed back Sam Lord’s castle as a Wyndham resort and broke ground on a new south coast hotel.  As we welcome 2024 there are even more new projects, both large and small, in the pipeline. We therefore look forward with zeal and enthusiasm as we craft the future of our industry for the benefit of all Barbadians.

As we close 2023 and look forward to what 2024 will bring, I take this opportunity to say a special thank you to our teams in this industry, and to the businesses and partners who have worked so determinedly to ensure this industry’s recovery over the past 12 months.  We salute you all as you continue to play your part in this, our business!

 Have a positive, healthy, brilliant 2024!

Renée Coppin

Chairman – Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA)