TOURISM UPDATE: BHTA president Alvin Jemmott (left) sharing recent figures with executive vice-president Sue Springer yesterday.

TOURISM ARRIVALS for this summer are not looking "hot", but indications are things should warm up for winter.

President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Alvin Jemmott, said while there was no need for panic, the word for the remaining summer months (August, September and October) should be "caution".

He was speaking yesterday during a breakfast Press briefing at the Amaryllis Hotel in Hastings, Christ Church.

He said that while tourist arrivals for July and August were just under 9 000, figures for the remaining summer months were not "jumping out of the sky".

"We are still seeing a bit of resistance in the marketplace. There is no need for panic, but just to be aware that we are not seeing the same type of arrival figures as last year this same time," he said.

Jemmott and executive vice-president of the BHTA Sue Springer said the low arrivals for the remaining months were not as a result of recent terrorist threats in England.

He added that the possibility of another rise in oil prices moreso than terrorist threats would impact the industry.

World class events in Germany, like the recently held Football World Cup, were also partly responsible for the low figures, he said.

Springer said the British market was beginning to soften and there were discussions of a likely change in interest rates there.

"If that happens we have to be concerned, because that is one of our major market areas," she said.

Meanwhile, Jemmott advised industry players to "consolidate a little bit and wait for the better things to come at the end of the year, and at the beginning of the tourist season".

He stressed the winter season was looking "great".

"Reports suggest already that there are hotels already exceeding their last year numbers for December, January and February," he said. (JR-B)

Please see also Pages 32A and 33A.