Have motorcycle, will travel! Tourists leaving the Bridgetown Port to tour Barbados.

Local businesses, from taxi operations to souvenir sellers, gained a major boost yesterday when thousands of holiday-makers sailed into Barbados.

It was another big day for the large tour companies, but many taxi-drivers managed to organise visits to a number of popular spots for the tourists who came swarming through the Bridgetown Port from early in the morning.

Adventureland Tours Inc. also provided some scenic tours for several of the holiday-makers cruising the Caribbean on six vessels – the Ocean Village, Ocean Village II, Holiday Dream, Carnival Destiny, Constellation and the Norwegian Pearl.

Stores in Bridgetown did brisk business as the tourists – estimated by officials at more than 10 000 – sought a range of souvenirs, perfumes, cosmetics, jewellery, watches, postcards, cigarettes, liquor and shoes.

Places hit by the "tourist invasion" included Cave Shepherd, DaCosta's Mall, Norman Centre and Pelican Village.

"They have been buying cosmetics, perfumes, jewellery, liquor and souvenirs and some of the brand name gear," Cave Shepherd's corporate communications manager, Hugh Durant, told the DAILY NATION.

"We should hope that this is the start of Christmas shopping, with a lead into Independence, then into Christmas . . . . "

He calculated that "a good few hundred" tourists had shopped in the department store by midday.

It was a mixture of English and Spanish-speaking tourists which came through the gates of the Bridgetown Port, forcing a number of taxi-drivers and souvenir vendors to brush up on their Spanish and engage in sometimes stiff bargaining for goods and services.

Some tourists took to the streets of Bridgetown on bicycles and motor-cycles, some walked or used the "special" $5 ride taxis were offering, and others cooled off at Browne's Beach and other popular seaside spots.

The six ships had made stops in a number of Caribbean islands, including St Vincent, Dominica and Grenada, before coming to Barbados and were expected to sail to more islands last night. (TY)