Rising prices at tourist attractions and shops are dampening cruise visitors’ interest, despite projections of a busy winter season ahead, according to a leading figure in Bridgetown’s taxi industry.
Stephen Clarke, president of the Bridgetown Port Taxi Co-op Society Ltd., told Barbados TODAY that while cruise tourism is showing strong recovery, many visitors are becoming hesitant to visit paid attractions due to rising costs.
“Some of the attractions have gotten pretty expensive in my book and in my opinion, so a lot of the guests are going to attractions, but not [necessarily] attractions they have to pay,” he said.
The taxi cooperative has adapted by creating alternative tour options. “We the taxi drivers do create attractions for the guests where we take them to places where they don’t have to pay to go in, so they don’t have to pay that extra money along with the taxi fare as well. They do enjoy that,” he explained.
Clarke noted that while their shuttle service to Bridgetown remains popular, visitors have expressed concerns about retail prices in the capital.
“We have a shuttle service here going into Bridgetown and that is patronised very well. If the people after they get into Bridgetown patronise the shops, we would not know that, but coming to Bridgetown we get a few people,” he said. “If some of the stores in Bridgetown dropped their prices a bit, they might get more traffic, but if the prices keep going up, you would also just see the people come window shopping.”
Despite these challenges, Clarke remains optimistic about the upcoming season, citing an increase in cruise ship arrivals.
“We are projecting that it should be a pretty good season; there is an increase in cruise ships [and] bigger cruise ships coming into the port, so we expect that there will be work for us. Not only us but every person who works in the cruise industry,” he said.
The comments come as cruise tourism continues its post-pandemic recovery. According to Javon Griffith, president of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), the sector has seen significant growth, with cruise arrivals reaching 475 028 from January to June 2024, up from 434 565 during the same period in 2023.
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