Big-time snub for tourism
by Peter Morgan
The Immediate past president of the Caribbean Hotel Association is reported as lamenting the fact that the subject of tourism was nowhere to be found on the agenda of the meeting of Caribbean heads of government, which took place earlier this week, despite the fact, he contends, that tourism represents 50 per cent of Government revenue in the entire region. I have heard other mumblings along the same lines – “They can talk about cricket but they don’t have time to deal with tourism.” But what would they talk about? Each would boast about how wonderfully well they were doing and that would be that. Governments of the region, and not just the current ones, do not understand the ins and outs of tourism – that has recently been amply demonstrated by some of our own ministers. But why should they? No one has explained problems to them except in the most general terms. It’s our fault. It is a human trait that we all believe that just because we know some simple fact, everyone knows it. Yet each of us knows things from our own experience that others might not know. The other day one of my sons was fixing something and asked me to pass him a screwdriver. Now even I know what a screwdriver looks like. But he said: “Not that one – a Phillips.” Who? How am I supposed to know who Phillips is? No one ever told me. So how are ministers supposed to know about tourism, specifically the problems we would like them to deal with, unless they are explained to them? Take an example. Everyone knows that Barbados is a relatively expensive destination for a visitor (even before the VAT hit them) and everyone understands the related problem that, in consequence, hotels in Barbados are not generally very profitable. But have the facts and figures in the form of a detailed comparison with our competitors ever been drawn up in terms of cost of labour, foodstuffs, energy taxes, etc. so that Government might consider what could be done about it? Until that time the suspicion lingers of greedy people wanting even more. Has anyone ever compiled a list of the developments which are springing up in other Caribbean territories, from the Bahamas and Cuba to Canouan and Tobago, while Barbados presently has no new hotels a-building and fewer hotel rooms than it did 10 years or so ago, even if you include the Hilton and Sandy Lane? Might someone not sit up and take notice? Has any detailed comparison ever been presented showing the revenues from tourism of various competitors, and their annual appropriations for promotional and administrative purposes in terms of the percentage that the one represents the other? It has always struck me as odd that not even the Central Bank can tell us the cost/benefit ratio between the annual revenue from tourism and the annual outgoing of foreign exchange in term of commissions, promotions, advertising, the importation of food, drinks and other supplies to support the industry. Suppose the income was $100 million and then we discovered that the expenditure was $101 million, wouldn’t that catch Government’s attention? That is why I had hoped that one newspaper or the other would have published the facts which Jean Holder, secretary-general of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), provided at a meeting of to Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association recently with regard to the global competition which the Caribbean faces today. He pointed to new theme parks and mega resorts with 2 000 rooms, multiple dining choices with famous chefs, massive casinos, entertainment complexes, designer boutiques all under one roof: to inl and beach resorts: to Africa, South East Asia and the Far East and to the new technology which makes instant information available to every potential traveller at the touch of a mouse – computer – not Mickey. Today’s traveller has the world to choose from. Who recognises this? Sadly, compilation and dissemination of relevant facts and figures seem to be no one’s responsibility. Could the Central Bank help? Or the Economic Society – which would assist them in getting their forecasts a little more accurate? Or could the Barbados Tourism Authority contract such research through CTO? Such information could be presented to ministers in a form similar to Cabinet papers, concluding with recommendations so they would have a better understanding of where the BTA, the BHTA and others are coming from. In the end no one – neither ministers nor John Public – is going to be convinced without those carefully researched facts. 
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