Trinidad and Tobago Outlaws Slot Machines – While Barbados Imports Thousands More

T & T Government Worried About The Social Impact Of Gambling

Barbados Leadership Says “To Hell With Families & Society, Give Me De Money!”

It is really all about values and where the leaders want to take their respective countries. The Government of Trinidad & Tobago under President George Maxwell Richards just passed a law that will see the phasing out of slot machines in that country. Barbados under the government of Prime Minister Owen Arthur has recently embarked upon a massive increase in slot machines situated in local communities.

Everybody knows that slots in the local communities are bad for families and bad for individuals. Prime Minister Arthur did not restrict the increase in slots to tourist hotel venues and has decided that targeting local Bajan communities is acceptable.

Previously, Arthur has equated casino gambling with selling our daughters into prostitution. (link here) Perhaps he’s changed his mind about what is acceptable. Hopefully for our daughters, the PM’s change of heart will stop at slot machines.

Like we said, it is all about values… and, as someone much wiser than we are once said…

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also…

and

For the love of money is the root of all evil

Mr. Prime Minister, members of the government… Why do you do this to Barbados?

Article Links

Trinidad & Tobago Express: Slot Machines To Be Phased Out

Barbados Free Press:

Video Gambling Machines A Free-For-All In The Virgin Islands… But Don’t Worry Barbados, There’s Lots Of Money To Go Around!

Gambling King Robert Johnson “Gave” BET To Barbados And The World

Robert Johnson Pleased To Partner With Barbados Government In New Gambling Operation

Barbados Government Licenses Yet Another Gambling Casino – Nation News Treads Oh So Delicately

How Many Barbados Slot Machines and Where?

Cheryl and Ashley Cole Dump Spain – Head For Sandy Lane, Barbados

Footballer Ashley Cole and his wife, Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy, have long been frequenting Spain when they want to get away from it. Perhaps their infatuation with that country is over as the rich and famous couple were overheard complaining about the number of paparazzi in Spain – and they have now popped up at Sandy Lane, Barbados.

Paparazzi are the price of admission for fame and fortune, and as the above photo shows… we’ve got paparazzi and cameras in Barbados too!

Photo credit: Celeb Source

Barbados Airport Taxes Now The Highest In The Region?

Are the taxes payable to leave Barbados Grantley Adams International Airport now the highest in the region?

Let’s take an example…

Travel ONE WAY from Barbados to St. Lucia on 24th June 2007, with the currently lowest airfare available on LIAT.

St. Lucia base fare US$50

Plus taxes/add-ons

US$7.40 Sales Tax (VAT)

$5.00 Passenger Facility Charge

$27.50 Airport Development Tax

$2.50 Airport Authority tax

$0.37 Airport Passenger tax

$10.25 Fuel and Insurance Surcharge

Total taxes/add-ons payable US$52.12

Now let’s do the same comparison based again on the lowest available ONE WAY airfare from Barbados to:

Bearing in mind below figures indicate ONLY the taxes payable and not the actual airfare.

Anguilla – US$77.35
Antigua – US$63.75
Curacao – US$54.80
Dominica – US$51.50
Grenada – US$56.65
Guadeloupe – US$64.25
Georgetown – US$53.60
Martinique – US$55.10
Nevis – US$66.05
St. Kitts – US$65.50
St. Vincent – US$47.45
San Juan – US$81.75
Santo Domingo – US$106.05
St. Maarten – US$64.25
St. Croix – US$78.30
St. Thomas – US$78.30
Tobago – US$51.80
Tortola – US$69.65
Port-of-Spain – US$52.75

Can any BFP readers identify any other Caribbean territory where the taxes and add-ons are higher?

Adrian Loveridge

Barbados – St. Lucia Airfare After Liat-Caribbean Star Merger = $US272 … Used To Be US$131 !!!

Well, THAT Should Encourage Inter-Island CARICOM Travel!

Airline chief executive Mark Darby is on the defensive about the recent increases in inter-island airfare, saying “Both Liat and Caribbean Star Airlines were losing millions of dollars in a competitive environment where fare levels were unsustainable.”

The key to Mr. Darby’s statement is that even the merged airlines are still money-losers. He doesn’t say it up front but he’s still begging governments to sink more into this venture.

The Government of Barbados is by far the largest shareholder of Liat so we Bajans should have a keen interest in how the airline is doing… or not doing.

The Swiss, the Belgians and so many other small countries couldn’t make a go of their national airlines, so maybe it is time for Barbados and the West Indies to admit that at the present time we just aren’t able to keep pouring money into another bottomless pit.

Perhaps the answer is to be found in sea travel with inter-island fast catamarans or other such craft. No, sea travel is not as fast, but for CARICOM inter-island commerce and movement of goods it is way cheaper than flying.

We should be questioning the assumption that there is no other practical and efficient way of doing inter-island travel besides tiny airplanes where passengers can’t even take along a decent sized suitcase.

That old definition of crazy sure applies to our continued willingness to sink millions into airlines based on a feeling of national pride rather than objective reality.

Definition of Crazy Airline “Investments”: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

From The Trinidad & Tobago Express…

US$20 fare increase by Liat

An increase in airfares on regional carrier Liat by US$20 for return trips in most islands has recently crossed over into the airline’s service to Barbados.

Airline chief executive Mark Darby said: “Both Liat and Caribbean Star Airlines were losing millions of dollars in a competitive environment where fare levels were unsustainable.”

“For some destinations, the total fare has been further increased by new airport taxes and charges. The fares in the market today are appropriate and realistic as far as our costs are concerned.”

He said in an advertisement yesterday that the fares had increased but not substantially.

Using the fare increase between Barbados and St Lucia of US$131 before the merger of the two airlines and a post-merger fare of US $272 he said:

“Within the fares listed above are a number of add-ons and taxes to the total fare such as airport development charges, various sales taxes to name a few which often account for one third of the overall fare paid by the passenger.”

He then listed the cost of running the company’s aircraft…

… continue reading this article at the Trinidad & Tobago Express (link here)

Also see LIAT CEO Says Airfares Realistic