by MICHELLE SPRINGER

A TEN PER CENT INCREASE in long-stay arrivals for the first three months of the year offers the tourism sector and the country's economy a welcoming boost.

Officials from the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) and the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA) informed the SUNDAY SUN of the newly calculated figures on Thursday, just three days after Prime Minister David Thompson announced price increases on gasoline, diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the nation.

Sue Springer, executive vice-president of the BHTA, confirmed via telephone that the industry had seen 159 427 long-stay arrivals between January and March compared to 144 048 for the same period last year.

She said however, the March 18 per cent increase was not representative of any major discrepancy in the industry.

"It was a strong month for us if we compare it with 2006, which was weak because of pre-World Cup Cricket bookings. So, we would expect to see March this year being stronger," Springer said.

There was also an increase in cruise passenger figures, where 324 600 arrivals were recorded for the first quarter, up from 263 600.

An official at BTA on Thursday said: "Barbados' tourism industry has not been significantly affected to date by the economic slowdown in the United States. During the first quarter of the year, we recorded a 10.8 per cent increase in overall long-stay arrivals over last year with a marginal increase in arrivals from the United States.

"Although we have recorded positive growth for the first quarter in 2008, we continue to pay very close attention to the economic situation in the United States and elsewhere.

"To address the situation, we are continuing to adopt a proactive approach in our marketing efforts, where we pre-book the year and offer special incentives to enhance Barbados' competitiveness during the soft visitor season.

Earlier last week Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy, along with the BTA chairman Ralph Taylor and president Stuart Layne, travelled to North America to engage in an intensive round of meetings with airlines and key industry partners, to minimise any impact caused by the United States recession.