Falling tourism forces changes at B'dos Tourism Authority

The Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) is to be split into separate entities as authorities in the island move to boost tourism figures, on the heels of a 7.7 per cent drop in long-stay arrivals.

Tourism Minister Richard Sealy said the changes would be made by the end of this year.

The development will see one entity being responsible for marketing - the Barbados Tourism Marketing Company - and the other for product development - the Barbados Tourism Product Development Company. Sealy said there would be no duplication of work involving the two entities and administrative costs would be shared.

"We will have two entities that are engaged in two activities that are crucial to the long-term survival of our tourism industry. There will be a common services company for these two entities, so that corporate services and so on, administrative functions, those costs can be shared and we can have two efficient organisations that are focused on the tasks that confront them," the Tourism Minister said.

Sealy added that there had been adjustments to the BTA Board, trimming it from 18 to 11. But he said no one had been left without a job.

"We have not sacked or chased away any-one...merely invited them to be a part of this [new] entity," he explained.

The Tourism Minister has acknowledged that this year would be very challenging for the country's biggest foreign exchange earning sector.

Although the cruise industry has been doing well, with arrivals up by 5.4 per cent, long-stay arrivals were down by 7.7 per cent at the end of February when compared to the same period in 2008 - a record year in which the industry made "more money than it has ever earned".

The biggest decline was in the United States market where there was a 14 per cent decline up to the end of last month and there was also a significant 9.2 per cent drop in arrivals from the United Kingdom - its largest market.

The Tourism Minister suggested the decrease was a result of cutbacks in flights to the island by international airlines but said the government is in negotiations with existing partners and new ones to boost airlift to the island.