Barbados (Barbados Today) – As operators in the tourism sector brace for increased commodity prices and further disruption to supply chains due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, they are being given the assurance that help is on the way.
In fact, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Senator Lisa Cummins disclosed that she has started discussions with regional chambers of commerce, in her role as Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Council of Ministers, to look at how best measures can be put in place to cushion the impact.
She also gave the assurance that Government has been working to expand airlift and diversify the island’s tourism source market into non-traditional regions and countries to help bolster the island’s tourism product.
“I know that there is concern about what is happening in Europe. We don’t have any control over those things, and if COVID has taught us anything it is that we don’t have control over some of the things that will happen in our industry. But what we do have control over is our response to those things and our ability to put mitigation strategies in place,” Cummins said.
Her comments came on Wednesday, as she gave a sneak peek into what she said would be “a far more comprehensive approach to tourism” in Barbados, which includes diversification of source markets, and how the island will be marketed as it emerges from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cummins was addressing tourism industry officials during the virtual Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) first quarterly general meeting for 2022.
