Matters pertaining to further expanding Barbados’ pharmaceutical industry, cyber security, artificial intelligence and its regulation were among the issues discussed yesterday, during a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and President of the European Commission (EU), Ursula von der Leyen.

During the discussions at Ilaro Court, both sides praised their long-standing relationship, as they explored other avenues for cooperation in a number of areas that include, but are not limited to, battery storage; production of precision medicine to help the country in the fight against cancer and NCDs; genomic testing to explore the link between race and NCDs, among other areas.

Mrs Von der Leyen, who is the first EU Commission President to visit the region, expressed her delight to be in Barbados and expressed renewed optimism in the friendship and strategic partnership with the island.

Also present during the meeting with the EU Commission and her team were Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable, Jerome Walcott; Attorney General Dale Marshall; Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins; Minister in Finance, Ryan Straughn; Minister with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight; Minister in Economic Affairs, Senator Chad Blackman, and other officials. (PR/GIS)

Caribbean tourism is on the rebound and almost back to COVID-19 pre-pandemic levels.

This is according to President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Nicola Madden-Greig, as she delivered the State of the Industry and Region Address, at the second Caribbean Travel Forum, on Tuesday, at the Sandals Royal Resort, Maxwell, Christ Church.

Ms. Madden-Greig said that although the sector was almost back to pre-pandemic levels and global travel demand was robust post COVID-19, the industry was still in recovery mode.

“We are still in recovery as an industry because some of us are still struggling with the deferred loans and the lack of profitability for the last three years.  And while we are doing strong in terms of revenue growth, we still have debt to pay out.  So, we are recovering and recovering strong but we are not yet fully recovered from a financial point of view,” she stated.

In addition, Ms. Madden-Greig noted that the pace of recovery is still threatened by rising operation costs, increased airfares, climate change, connectivity, global competition, and labour shortages.  

“We know that this (labour shortage) is a challenge not only for tourism but for every sector and that’s a global challenge.  We have been working as CHTA with our regional partners at CTO and other universities to ensure we ramp up training and development of our nationals.”

On the issue of climate change and some of the efforts to combat the effects, she highlighted that the CHTA started working with the Nature Conservatory last year on a coral reef preservation and management guide.  

She said three weeks ago it was launched in Kingston, Jamaica, and in addition to Jamaica, the CHTA is working with Dominica and Haiti to ensure that coral reefs are protected in those areas which make up 60 per cent of the coral cover for the entire region.  The findings from the project would be used to drive other research and protection throughout the region.

The CHTA President also spoke of a tourism demand study conducted in Jamaica. She stressed that if the study is done across the Caribbean and not individually, it could look at demand, in terms of the supply of goods and services required in the industry as a region, and stakeholders would be able to see what could be done in terms of import substitution as a region.  

This, Ms. Madden-Greig said, would “help us to drive that tourism retention dollar to our nationals, and ensure that wealth creation for generations to generations is something that tourism is able to deliver”.

Other key points highlighted were:

• Aruba is leading the Caribbean in recovery;
• Barbados is among the top destinations with an upward occupancy trend;
• Intra-regional travel is on the decline;
• Sectoral linkages can be an area for growth opportunity;
• There are great partnerships to be had regionally, e.g. multi-destination packages, and
• Latin America is a crucial market for the Caribbean.    (PR/GIS)

Over 800 degrees, diplomas and certificates, across a range of disciplines, will be conferred on the class of 2022, when the Barbados Community College (BCC) held its 49th graduation ceremony, at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex, on Saturday, November 5.

The ceremony, which will was held under the theme Living the Change: Navigating the Challenges, began at 5:00 p.m. Minister of Education, Technical and Vocational Training, Kay McConney, will deliver the feature address.

In total, 819 students graduated from the College’s various programmes, a majority – 196 with the Associate Degree in Applied Science, followed by 144 with Associate Degrees in Applied Arts and 142 with Bachelor’s Degrees. 

Additionally, 140 students graduated with the Associate Degree in Arts; 50 with the Associate Degree in Science and 36 with the Associate Degree in Arts and Science. Ninety-two students will also receive BCC certificates while 19 others will be given postgraduate diplomas.

The ceremony holds the distinction of being the first in the face-to-face format, as Barbados resumes normal operation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to the BCC’s Registrar, Roger Worrell, this year’s celebration is “all the more special, given all that students and teachers; and by extension the entire country endured and overcame over the last two years”. (PR/GIS)