CRICKET WORLD CUP did Barbados well.

That's the verdict of Executive Director of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Sue Springer.

She told the Sun on Saturday that 20 per cent of the hotels had 100 per cent occupancy during the games, and 63 954 long stay visitors visited the island in April, a 10 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year, and the highest ever recorded in any one month. There are 6 000 hotel rooms on the island.

Figures were also high among cruise ship passengers with 65 722 visiting the island in April, compared to 56 553 for the corresponding period in 2006.

The BHTA head revealed that the months of May, June, July and August were proving to be good months for the hotel sector, with increases of over 10 per cent over the corresponding periods for last year.

She explained that while many properties averaged 75-80 per cent occupancy during Cricket World Cup, management still reaped rewards as the average daily rates were much higher during the games.

She further added that the increases in arrivals were spread among hotels on the south and west coasts, as well as villas, private apartments and private homes. According to the Barbados Tourism Authority, some 146 families hosted cricket fans during Cricket World Cup.

Springer disclosed that the high end of the market did not go after cricket fans but that that sector also maintained high occupancies from repeat and other guests.

She said the hosting of Cricket World Cup also did Barbados well through the exposure which the island received.

"The infrastructure and lots of things which were put in place will be there for a long time. For example, we now have a cruise ship passenger evacuation plan and a tourism emergency management plan. All of the infrastructure which was done is still in place.

"Medical facilities were improved and Barbadians are the ones who will benefit. "These things were not in place prior to the hosting of Cricket World Cup. We had approximately a 1000 room upgrade, new roads and security scanners now in place at the Port. These are also going to be in place for a long time to come.

"I think we are losing sight. It wasn't about just two weeks of cricket. A lot of our villa people had hits on their web sites and much more interest was shown in their properties, the BHTA head added.

Springer also noted that restaurants, duty free shops and businesses falling under the ancillary services of the BHTA reaped tremendous benefits.

She however added that some of the island's taximen were disadvantaged during the games because of the high number of tours which were pre-booked by visitors.