“Government will eventually have to decide what it wants – Tax the industry out of existence or put in place the reforms discussed over decades that clearly have made a significant difference for a solitary player.
Or, apply the reforms uniformly to alleviate the current national imbalance.”
Hotel layoffs the natural result of Government failure to keep promises
Adrian Loveridge – tourism expert, hotel owner
It is now a full six months since companies trading under the Sandals Resorts brand were granted unilateral extraordinary concessions never before seen in the long history of our tourism industry. Despite repeated assurances given to the tourism sector, once again implementation is sadly lacking and as we enter the long eight summer months the industry is left floundering to second guess pricing and marketing strategies that will help it survive yet another year.
Criticism is leveled again at some hoteliers for not passively submitting to the prices dictated by tour operators, which ultimately has led to further airlift losses from a market that is especially attractive in terms of average duration of stay. But pray tell me, how can any Government official expect a single accommodation provider to agree fixed contract rates up to eighteen months ahead of arrival date when they have no overall idea on what those rates are based on?
It really has to reflect the height of lunacy when the remarks are uttered by someone who holds the ultimate power together with his cabinet colleagues to return the industry to viability. Until this is done the chance of competing with many other Caribbean destinations at the same level remains only a distant dream.
Surely by now our policymakers understand the basics of how the travel business is structured and the timing required to put programmes in place. Continue reading
