Editorial - Monday 05, April-2004

Business people involved in the hospitality industry would have been smiling over the past week as they welcomed the thousands of English visitors who descended on Barbados for the third cricket Test match between England and the West Indies.

The Barmy Army would have given a much-needed boost to hoteliers, owners of guest houses, restaurants and shops of all sizes and types and the economy as a whole.

The Test match provided businesses with a scaled down version of what they can expect if Barbados is chosen to host some of the matches during the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean.

While the organisational level at this Test match was clearly better that those in previous years, much has to be done if we are to get maximum economic benefit from hosting World Cup matches.

Perhaps the most glaring shortcoming was that we struggled to find enough rooms for the throngs to English cricket lovers.

newspaper stories indicated that all hotel rooms and hired cars had been booked up for the two-week period around the Test match.

If this is correct, and we struggled to deal with the English influx, then there must be a very substantial improvement if we are to accommodate the thousands who will be following the games throughout the region.

A World Cup newscenario pitting the West Indies versus England at Kensington Oval would not only see possibly double the amount of English visitors but also thousands more from the Caribbean and other cricketing nations vying to get into Barbados.

There has been some talk of having cruise ships dock here and act as floating hotels during the World Cup. This would perhaps be better that building more hotels which would only prove to be financially viable during the World Cup.

However, should we invite cruise ships operators to be part of such a venture, we must ensure the current status quo does not apply.

Cruise ships operators currently reap a disproportionate amount of profits from the tourism industry in the region. Should they be here for the World Cup as ‘hotels’ then the profits must be more equally shared with the regional Governments during that period.

The issue of transportation must also be looked at more carefully and a system where public and private transportation work closely should be used.

Steps must also be taken to ensure that there is less disruption to business and households in the area around Kensington Oval.

All the issues related to sale of tickets must also be looked at. Everything from the conditions fans had to endure to get tickets to why more tickets were sold to visitors than West Indians must come under the microscope.

The Test match has already provided us with a learning experience and shows us what we need to do if we are to make the World Cup 2007 a successful business and entertainment event. Businesspeople involved in the hospitality industry would have been smiling over the past week as they welcomed the thousands of English visitors who descended on Barbados for the third cricket Test match between England and the West Indies.

The Barmy Army would have given a much-needed boost to hoteliers, owners of guest houses, restaurants and shops of all sizes and types and the economy as a whole.

The Test match provided businesses with a scaled down version of what they can expect if Barbados is chosen to host some of the matches during the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean.

While the organisational level at this Test match was clearly better that those in previous years, much has to be done if we are to get maximum economic benefit from hosting World Cup matches.

Caribbean Cricket

Caribbean Golf

Perhaps the most glaring shortcoming was that we struggled to find enough rooms for the throngs to English cricket lovers.

newspaper stories indicated that all hotel rooms and hired cars had been booked up for the two-week period around the Test match.

If this is correct, and we struggled to deal with the English influx, then there must be a very substantial improvement if we are to accommodate the thousands who will be following the games throughout the region.

A World Cup newscenario pitting the West Indies versus England at Kensington Oval would not only see possibly double the amount of English visitors but also thousands more from the Caribbean and other cricketing nations vying to get into Barbados.

There has been some talk of having cruise ships dock here and act as floating hotels during the World Cup. This would perhaps be better that building more hotels which would only prove to be financially viable during the World Cup.

However, should we invite cruise ships operators to be part of such a venture, we must ensure the current status quo does not apply.

Cruise ships operators currently reap a disproportionate amount of profits from the tourism industry in the region. Should they be here for the World Cup as ‘hotels’ then the profits must be more equally shared with the regional Governments during that period.

The issue of transportation must also be looked at more carefully and a system where public and private transportation work closely should be used.

Steps must also be taken to ensure that there is less disruption to business and households in the area around Kensington Oval.

All the issues related to sale of tickets must also be looked at. Everything from the conditions fans had to endure to get tickets to why more tickets were sold to visitors than West Indians must come under the microscope.

The Test match has already provided us with a learning experience and shows us what we need to do if we are to make the World Cup 2007 a successful business and entertainment event.

Compliments of the Nation News

BARBADOS