A small hotels group established more than 14 years ago continues to be hemmed in by inadequate funding.
For the past two years The Small Hotels of Barbados Inc., which trades as Intimate Hotels of Barbados (IHB), has been “severely constrained in our ability to conduct our marketing activities”, spokesperson Renée Coppin told attendees at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) at Island Inn Hotel.
Coppin was speaking in her capacity as chairman, a post she relinquished to Kashka Haynes at the AGM.
IHB functions under the Babados Hotel & Tourism Association umbrella and is “still funded by the Government of Barbados in light of the ongoing reality that the Barbados Tourism Authority had yet to advance any marketing funds to the organization”.
“Sadly, nothing has changed in relation to our funding and so for the past two years we have been severely constrained in our ability to conduct our marketing activities,” she said.
However, we recognize that these are national challenges and as such as I hand over this mantle to the next chairman, I do so with the assurance that even in the face of our challenges we have strengthened our foundation, extended our reach, deepened our relationships and set our association firmly on course for continued growth.”
Coppin was encouraged by news that Barbados’ “arrivals, year to date, have kept pace with last year and so we are hopeful that the decline, and relative stagnation, is beginning to bottom out”.
“Approximately one year ago, when I stood before you at our annual general meeting, I read an excerpt from the Nation Newspaper which offered the Governor of the Central Bank’s rather somber review of the performance of the Barbados tourism industry,” she recalled.
“At that time, the island had recorded marked decreases in visitor arrivals and spend, with several flight cancellations looming. Today, while we cannot provide any more positive a review of the current state of the industry (or the economy) we are buoyed by signs that there is hope on the horizon.”
“We at the Intimate Hotels of Barbados are definitely of the ‘glass half full’ world view and. . . we are firmly focused on the opportunities that lie ahead and how best we can position our members to take advantage of them.”
In addition to Haynes and Coppin, the other members of the IHB board are secretary Kavita Sandiford, and directors Geeta Chatrani, Soni Kessuram, and Denis Tull. (SC)
