Dear BU and BFP (as well as your respective readers!),
Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone for assistance with my questionnaire. In total, I collected 405 valid responses.
Secondly, as a result of some nifty networking on the part of Dennis Jones, of the Living in Barbados blog, I will be presenting a condensed version of the findings of my “Resident Perceptions of Tourism Impacts in Barbados“ study, on Brass Tacks this Sunday (I believe the show starts at around 11 AM). Also, thanks to Daniel Foster for the crash course in stats!
Finally, as the results will be condensed (because of time factors of the radio show), I will be posting the complete results to my blog (www.pullpush.net), as well as emailing them to your respective blogs.
Thank you (and your readers) for your time, patience and participation. It is my hope that the information coming out this study will be useful in some small way, not only to the the tourism industry, but to Barbadians in general.
Kind regards,
Amit.
Barbados Free Press 
Good luck on the show, Amit. Hopefully, you will get good feedback and be able to share some important insights about this very important sector. You should think of formally sending the results to the Minister (your MP)/BTA/BHTA etc.
Amit,
Good Luck and I will be listening-in.
You might want to watch PEOPLE’s BUSINESS at 7.40pm tonight.
Re finger printing:
Does this mean that all Canadian passport holders will now need to be finger printed on arrival for their regular return Barbados
vacations?
Does this include small children & babies?
What about 80 year old Grand Parents or those disabled & arriving in a wheel chair?
Where is it posted for all to see that this is a new requirement?
Was it passed in law, when?
On Friday, Minister of State with responsibility for Immigration Senator Arni Walters said travellers were not obligated to be fingerprinted.
Well, yes or no?
What next, body searches?
Who needs the hassle.
Might as well stay home or start going to Cuba. They welcome Canadians.
What is is about politicians (or in this case former politicians) that think that we just forget everything they say?
‘Air Vow’ 5th February 2007 – NATION
‘Government intends to do all it can to keep airfares affordable for Caribbean people travelling throughout the region’.
or
‘LIAT fare(s) to Fall’ 4th June 2007 – NATION
Perhaps before calling-in to Brass Tacks Sunday today, this former politician should read some of his own press clippings and then reflect on being the person that implemented the HIGHEST EVER airport departure tax and other add-ons.
Maybe it was necessary to pay for the first four tarmac transfer buses that were totally unsuitable for the job, or the air conditioning that doesn’t work properly, or the ordered trolleys that never went into use or the leaking roofs?
The Gov’t sure chose a ham handed way of introducing a fundamental requirement for entry to Barbados and at a time when they are beating the bushes to attract more tourists.
The Minister said that it is mandatory whatever that means, does it mean that if I refuse to be finger printed it will be mandatory for the Immigration officer to send me back to whatever country I came from?
One would have thought that this type of change would be communicated to all the Embassies and Tourism officials representing and serving Barbados overseas but imagine if you are a visitor and on arrival being told that you are to be finger printed. (Memo to Barbados Gov’t some people on a matter of principle object to being finger printed no matter what the reason and would choose to go other places if they are subject to being finger printed on entry to Barbados).
The Minister also hinted that it was part of an effort to curb illegal immigration; surely you and your department can come up with something other than this.
Help !! Police!!!! I want to report a gun crime! … Monkey handling gun….
http://www.nationnews.com/news/local/arni-FRONT-PAGE-OTHER