With Only Weeks To Go, Isn’t This Too Little Too Late?
IF IT SEEMS STRANGE that the President of the Barbados Tourism Authority is abroad making last minute travel arrangements for a major event scheduled years ago instead of working at home with everything going according to plan…. read on!
Stuart Layne is currently in Dubai – working with a travel company to lay on special flights for Middle East cricket fans and flogging empty berths on the Carnival Destiny cruise ship. The ship has promised a prayer room, Indian chefs and Bollywood entertainment to cater to Middle East clients, and Air India is doing special direct flights from the Middle East direct to Bridgetown where passengers will embark on Destiny.
What’s with the last minute arrangements? Why the big push?
Sources Indicate Carnival Destiny Is Only 40% Booked – And Barbados Pays US$50 Extra For All Empty Berths – Per Day!
Barbados Free Press has been contacted by three different sources – each of whom state that the Carnival Destiny is running 40% to 48% capacity (depending upon the source) and that “something had to be done”. Thus Stuart Lane and former West Indies bowler Joel Garner are doing the media rounds in the Middle East in a last minute desperate push to try and market for Carnival Cruise Lines!
And why should the Government of Barbados care if Carnival’s ships are full or not? Haven’t we already paid millions for them to come to Barbados during Cricket World Cup? Well, apparently there’s this little detail in our contract: we pay US$50 extra per day for each empty berth.
1,000 empty berths equal US$50,000 PER DAY in surcharges.
Oops!
And that US$50 empty berth charge applies whether the cruise ship is anchored off Bridgetown or Trinidad or cruising between Cricket World Cup venues. That’s right, folks: we’re paying Barbados tax dollars to transport and accommodate cricket fans in other countries.
We’re also hearing that our local hotels and B&Bs are nowhere near full – and now the government BTA President is abroad selling cruise ship berths and not island accommodations!
We’ve also heard from one source that the Government of Barbados has promised to subsidize the Air India flights if they are less than capacity!
How Many Cruise Ships? How Many Cricket World Cup Visitors?
Take your pick, folks… Weren’t we hearing “100,000 visitors” last year? Weren’t we hearing “19 cruise ships” taking the overflow from our hotels?
Then “18″ cruise ships… then “14″ and now… the BTA President says “11″ cruise ships and “Over 30,000 people will be coming to the island for the World Cup during the two-week period in addition to our regular visitors.”
Was it the cricket visa fiasco? Did everyone just over-estimate and become victims of wishful thinking?
Maybe things will be OK
Maybe there will be a last minute flood of visitors who will fill our hotel rooms and dine in our restaurants and not on cruise ships. Maybe our children won’t still be paying for this party 20 years from now.
Maybe.
Article Link: Gulf News – Special Facilities for UAE Cricket Fans To Watch Final
22 Comments
February 26, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Pay we will without a doubt, this is the worst case of gov’t funded confusion we have ever experienced this is all about boasting rights and nothing more.
Owing trust me you have done it well this time and thanks to you and your party we will now be paying for your mismanagement for many years to come, I would love to hear you put the spin on this one and tell us how lucky we were to get involved in this fiasco and how lucky we are to have this debt over our heads and how lucky we were to get the finals, but then again you maybe be able to call in the Sandy Lane crowd the Mike Pemberton’s the Robin Patterson’s the Desmond Dermott’s the Smurfitt’s the Fearless’s the Ron Joyce’s the Michael Paynter’s as either one of these are capable of wiping out your debt with their signature maybe you do have a plan to save us the taxpayers of Barbados from your greed and that is to collect from these friends you court so closely surely after you entertained them at the taxpayers expense at Illaro Court the least they can do is to save us the headaches we poor people are now going to endure for the next 20 or 25 years after all the lease that they can do having raped our island of the beautiful views of the caribbean sea to be replaced with multi storey beachfront condo’s and villas, what say you?
February 26, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Chicken feed money.
Write de damn cheque,nah!
If necessary raise VAT to 20%,
since dat done coming already.
What’s the problem?
Barbados have money LIKE TRINIDAD
– whah wrang wid ya?
Bajan Taxpayers can withstand amazing amounts of caca (I’ve learned over the years)
they are trained to put up with baaaare nonsense AND vote dem back in,too!
All is well: nuhbody en’t dead!
February 26, 2007 at 3:40 pm
A little off point – but do readers remember a Nation newspaper’s article and picture about 3 years ago which showed the prime minister Owen Arthur on old year’s night on a Catamaran with about 5 greek men – apparently on a friendly cruise?
That picture bothered me for a long time because to my mind something seemed odd about the persons.
As is the norm – the nation newspaper did not tell us the purpose of the visit other than what appears on the surface,nor did they tell us if they investigated.
Why did these greek men want to take the Prime minister out on a boat?
Is it that out at sea converstion cannot be bugged?
Who are these greek men?
Were they ‘greeks bearing gifts?’
Remember the old adage – ‘beware of greeks bearing gifts’.
When I hear about the pembertons,and Fearless,and madame Sixt etc – I again ask – is any one willing to set up a true responsible media organisation?
We need investigative journalism bad.
February 26, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Jupiter you are very correct in your statement about our journalist on this island they are too scared to loose their jobs to politicial pressure if you look back to the Fearless issue in Dec he went to the Police station who arrives to see him thru his ordeal Mr Sandy Lane Mr Derreck Smith now when this event unfolded the Nation were adamant that they were seeing this through to the conclusion and that he would be charged and found guilty of damages to person and property and they were not going to back down from this stance but by the following morning all this changes before they get into court they reach a settlement, let me suggest how this was played out on Smith’s arrival he and Fearless chatted after which a call was placed to Owen by Smith or Fearless (after all these election funds are worth it) Owen in turn calls Mr Fred Gollop who in turn calls Mr Slinger who in turn conveys the wishes of the Chairman and the PM and the Sandy Lane and all problems are now solved money paid no charges to face for Fearless all is well but the reality is all is not well in this country at all it is sick to the bone.
February 26, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Mike what you outlined possibly occurred but surely you are aware that this is the way things are done most places nowadays. People plea bargain from positions of being guilty etc.
February 26, 2007 at 4:32 pm
I have no doubt that this is exactly the way it unfolded but in my books you either guilty or innocent this plea bargaining nonsense comes out of the USA no wonder they are so mixed up there.
February 26, 2007 at 4:43 pm
hahaha, I suppose it depends on which side of the fence one sits. I know that our WI brothers who have been enculturated feel that is the best system in the world; the land of the free!
Seriously though a lot of what you ask for must be driven by integrity legislation.
February 26, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Sounds an entirely likely scenario!
MONEY IS AALLL!
February 26, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Mike
It’s not only those greek men and the prime minister that is left alone by Barbados leading newspaper(sad to say – leading newspaper) – the Nation.
Remember the 14 indian who didnot have work permits and a certain ‘big -up’ who was able to change the use of a warehouse to a residence – what happened to that issue?
Remember the question of a expatriate who has taken up state land – ie the old train line in Bathsheba?
Remember the man who was killed in a blast at a home in Collymore Rock which was used to store fireworks contrary to the Laws of Barbados?
What about the land issue at Roadview St Peter – where the Prime Minister was involved?
What about the matter raised by Allan Fields – re investigations at CBC?
What about the Fearless matter and the right of way – has that matter been solved?
What about the money which was missing at the St Matthias court about 3 years ago?
Now we have another incident last year at the same place.
What about the missing drugs at the QEH – about 10 years ago – where Joe Edghill’s name kept cropping up?
What about the FBI report?
What about the missing stamp from the immigration Dept?
And I’m sure that readers can add more.
All the Nation newspaper is interested in is:DLP infighting,or a parade of women in so-called ‘beauty shows’,or putting some obscure hints or vulgar gossip in Pudding and Souse.
Why can’t they test these libel laws – all the way to the Caribbean Courts Of Justice and be creative in giving us the public so ‘real news?’
Nuff said.
February 26, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Mike
February 26th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
I have no doubt that this is exactly the way it unfolded but in my books you either guilty or innocent this plea bargaining nonsense comes out of the USA no wonder they are so mixed up there
—————————-
Mike there is nothing wrong with plea bargains. If Fearless had committed his crime up here, the same could occurred with the criminal charges, but he would have still to contend with civil charges brought by the victim.
February 26, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Adrian, how could civil charges be brought if your employer has asked you keep quiet on the matter because of pressure from the very top of the command chain?
I thought we operated under the UK system of law now I am learning we don’t but we are operating under the American system what a pity.
February 26, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Mike i merely stated what would apply if MR.FEARLESS CASE WAS IN THE US. Your question pertains to what is the practice in Barbados. You made the case that Mr. Fearless was allowed to “plea bargain.” I still don’t know that such a process is part of Bims legal system, and was only making the case for it’s usefulness in America where it is known.
So the questions you have to answer is.
Is a “Plea Bargain” really allowed in Barbados?
Does the UK system have such a process?
Is it similar if not the same at to what applys in the US?
me don’t know.
February 26, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Plea bargaining does not “officially” exist in Barbados law, i.e there is no legislative provision for it, but it does operate in practice. For example, where you hear of a witness (party to the crime)turning State’s evidence in return for a lesser or no sentence or where the DPP agrees to accept a plea of manslaughter since a murder charge is iffy. Plea bargaining is not a civil issue however, though the parties to a civil suit can agree to settle the matter between themselves.
February 26, 2007 at 9:49 pm
‘Unnuh watching tummuch ‘Merikan TeeVee
and feel dat is the reality on a small Car-bean rock.
get real: we duz as we likes: dis be WE-land now!
A friend of mine who lives in the UK,
is selling his deceased father’s house here in B’dos.
Just this a.m., he sent an interesting email
re. laws in Barbados, and I think you’d enjoy his comments, which I’ll cut and paste,below.
______________________________
I have learnt quite a bit about the legal system in Barbados and how it works,
so if you want legal advice when you come to sell, I’m your man!
The law in Barbados, though based on the British system,
has been adapted to local conditions and,
to put it mildly, is twisted beyond belief.
——————
It was the “twisted beyond belief” bit
that I found interesting!
So again, what pertains in actual US law,
in actual UK law,
in actual TeeVee Proceedings law,
and what pertains here pun de islan’..
be four difrnt tings!
February 26, 2007 at 10:35 pm
After the end of CWC 2007 on 28 April, many Bajans gine end up with a LAYNE (Stuart) foot from the LYNCHING (Barney ) they get from this MOTTLEY (Mia) crew of BLP politicians…..!!!
Through they pockets they will be Owing (Arthur) the banking community for generations….!!!
Let’s stop the rot…..Barbadians…!!!
February 27, 2007 at 12:19 am
wonder how true this?
I cannot imagine that the CWC could cause people to get so low
February 27, 2007 at 1:50 am
Those BLP Boys and gals will make the DLP look sunday school boys!
February 27, 2007 at 7:43 am
Lord have mercy!
BTA really screwed this one up – Chartering a cruise ship for a world class event, and in the Middle East trying to get cabins sold at the last minute. What on earth have they been doing?!?
This cruise ship could have been marketed to any country with cricket fans and sold out long ago.
I’ve given my take on this at my blog, and listed some of the cruise ships that will be coming to the island.
http://barbadostravel.squarespace.com/journal/2007/2/27/cruise-ships-visiting-barbados-during-world-cup-cricket.html
February 27, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Folks did any of you see todays Nation newspaper where there is a front page story about the arrival of the Scotish cricket team much to my utter disgust here we have in a peaceful fun loving place like Barbados we are now being potrayed as gun bearing louts on high alert for a terrorist attack at our airport, could this not have been enforced more discretely and with a less in your face approach after all we all know that the gov’t can afford to buy guns they do not need to advertise that on the front page of the daily paper.
To hell with the fun in the sea and the sun approach to tourism now welcome to Barbados where as you walk outside the airport your security will be taken care of by the armed guards standing outside the doorway they are there to prevent any bombs, snipers or groggist attacking you.
This picture is a sad reflection as to where the cricket world cup organisers have stooped to carry out the wishes of the ones in dark suits.
March 10, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Anybody read Flying Fish and Cou Cou today?
‘All hands not on deck’
Yet we were told Carnival Destiny was 80% sold!
And what became of the debate on the US$15 million taxpayer subsidy in Parliament?
‘more questions than answers’
March 14, 2007 at 6:41 pm
And did you notice in todays Nation that the GALAXY cruise ship cricket packages are being sold off to locals at prices FROM less than half those advised on tour operators sites.
If Carnival Destiny is ‘80% sold’ then what percentage accommodation has been sold to cricket fans for the Galaxy?
March 29, 2007 at 6:37 am
Sailed in Carnival Destiny March 2007 – has she filled up for Cricket tour?