Hotels are seeing a significant boost in summer bookings, with figures for the month of June reaching 50 per cent capacity ahead of next month’s T20 Cricket World Cup, according to the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA).
The association said this signals a strong start to the summer season for the island’s tourism industry.
In a quarterly media update on Thursday, BHTA Chairman Renée Coppin highlighted a 13 per cent lead over the same period last year, surpassing the 48.3 per cent occupancy of June 2023.
“The reports on demand for seats and forward bookings for air tickets provided to us indicate that we are pacing well ahead of last year in those areas,” she said, adding that despite the increase, the BHTA “clearly would have liked the numbers to be higher”.
But Coppin noted the lack of standardised measures for the shared economy segment, including Airbnb. This could mean even greater occupancy levels than reported, she said.
“It is possible that the AirBnB and villa segment, which represent a significant portion of our room stock, are seeing the greater benefit of this reported increase in demand. Our report on villa occupancy says that June will finish between 50-55 per cent, which is an increase on last year as well,” the BHTA chairman revealed.
Coppin said the hotel association is now focused on ensuring “the terms and conditions as operators in the sector are correct”.
“We are pacing in the right direction,” she said. “We believe we will end stronger because we are ahead of where we were last year, so it’s just for us to try to ensure that we are ready for that last-minute business.”
The rising occupancy rates come as Barbados prepares to welcome more than 20 000 people for eight matches and the June 29 final of the cricket tournament.
BHTA chief executive officer (CEO) Ryan Forde told reporters of the significance of events such as the World Cup and Crop Over in boosting tourism during typically less productive seasons like summer.
He said: “It may not be identical to the winter performance, but it is a better June for most of the membership than typical years, as we know June and September tend to be very weak periods. I make mention of this to refer to the importance of events, festivals, meetings, sporting events… during our weaker periods.”
Forde expressed confidence that these events will not only enhance the visibility of Barbados as a prime tourist destination but also stimulate economic activities across multiple sectors.
“Other sectors looking to host major activations should consider the island’s summer and shoulder periods and work with our association’s members to build out their desired events in a capacity that is beneficial to all stakeholders and, most importantly, to Barbados,” the BHTA CEO said.
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