Tourism review 10/10/2013 A recent paper presented by George Atalla and Antoine Nasr called “Reinventing Tourism in the GCC: Building the Tourism Ecosystem”, encourages the tri-partite examination of a country’s tourism model; its products and services, its sector enablers, and its system enablers. The writers explained the components of a tourism ecosystem, with occasional references to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. We asked ourselves, “How well are we familiar with our own ecosystem?” and “If this has been an evolving ecosystem, what is it that we need to leave off and what is it that we must now focus our attention on?” With alarming figures coming in regarding our bread and butter industry, it behooves us all to be on the same page. Products and services These refer to what we have to offer that will attract tourists to our country. These can be products of natural or historical relevance, such as our beaches and warm weather, or our Anglican and Catholic churches as well as the many 17th -19th century buildings within Bridgetown. Or, they can refer to later adaptations as we have followed travelling trends, golf courses, nature resorts and spas. Included in services are guided tours, discounted airfares to and from the destination and a wide range of hotel accommodation that caters from budget to luxury. In Barbados, we have been attempting to forge ahead in the events (themed) tourism, whether this be in sports, entertainment or culinary events such as the upcoming Food, Wine and Rum Festival. Sector enablers Perhaps there is much more to be done in this area. Sector enablers constitute those activities which involve industry planning, investment promotion, tourism marketing, human capital development and tourism research statistics. The October 1 date that was earmarked for a return to 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax for the tourism sector begs for more clarity, as conflicts have arisen between what Government has said it proposed and what stakeholders have said they expected. An official from the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) indicated days ago that the Association was to have further talks with the relevant Ministers to bring clarity to the issue. In our view, it would have been more beneficial had that list been agreed upon and made known through investigations and consultations, prior to a final announcement being made in the budgetary proposal. An opportunity also exists for agencies such as the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTI) to raise public awareness regarding its projects, ensuring that all stakeholders are in a better position to take ownership of whatever venture is on the table. There have been reports by some stakeholders of projects overseen by the BTI articulating that some decisions were being made without the expected levels of consultation between all parties. System enablers The third component of the tourism ecosystem refers to system enablers; that is, the quality of a country’s infrastructure, security, health and safety and environmental-sustainability practices. These may not be what attract tourists, but they are things which tourists will notice during their visit here. We need to pay greater attention to this area as global trends are suggesting a shift away from all-inclusives where tourists have no need to leave their accommodation, to more community-based tourism that caters to those seeking a learning experience. These are aspects that will inevitable dovetail upon a country’s national development. Regrettably, too many of the above mentioned system enablers – coupled with public transportation and air transportation into the country – have undergone some misfortunes. The negative implications that these can have on our tourism are not in the least bit desirable. barbadosadvocate/newsitem.asp?more=editorial&NewsID=32772
Posted on: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 10:19:38 +0000
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