Bridgetown.
President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Assocation (BHTA) Patrica Affonso-Dass says the decline in tourist arrivals in Barbados is deeper than expected.
In her maiden report to the BHTA at its third quarterly report at the Hilton Hotel yesterday, Affonso-Dass said the current trends indicate that the initial forecast decline of 1.1 percent over 2011 will be in fact deeper and may reach a decline of up to nine percent for 2012.
Affonso-Dass said the tourism industry has lost 30 hotels, approximately 1300 rooms and a number of attractions including Habour Master, Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, ATV Quest and Ocean Park since 2008.
"The industry has faced continued increases in operating costs and taxes at levels that outstrip the industry's ability to increase rates and remain competitive in the face of continued depression in our major source markets and the truth is, in my opinion, both the private sector and the public sector has done the best to make the industy as dynamic and efficient as they need to be", Affonso -Dass said.
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