BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Nation News – THE FOCUS ACROSS BARBADOS at this time is on the pending February 21 general election. But it is also the high point of our 2012-2013 winter tourism season, which – no matter which party is victorious in the poll – will have to pay detailed attention to visitor arrivals and spend, an area that is critical to our economic prosperity. Hopefully, we will hear from the platforms and also read in the manifestos of the plans to further develop and diversify the tourism product for the benefit of all Barbadians. While we are aware that a detailed report was recently discussed in Parliament, there is perhaps no better time than now for both the incumbent Democratic Labour Party and the Barbados Labour Party to let all the country know of their plans for this vital sector. A number of issues related to our tourism sector must be dealt with, and one does not have to be an expert in the hospitality industry to recognize some of these challenges. The state of the game has changed, with competition having been stepped up from both the traditional and non-traditional competing land-based markets.
