BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados government says the proposed Tourist Accommodation Bill is about protecting the island’s brand and is not designed in any way to dampen demand for tourist accommodation in the vacation rental program.
Tourism and International Transport Minister Ian Gooding-Edghill has described as “reasonable” a request from owners of vacation rental properties for further consultations and discussions on the legislation.
(File Photo)
Gooding-Edghil, who has just returned to the island and was forced to cancel a trip to Hong Kong due to a powerful typhoon in the region, said discussions have already been held with the Barbados Entrepreneurial Tourism Association (BETA), Intimate Hotels of Barbados (IHB), and the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA).
He stated that a public town hall meeting had also been held, and all-day focus groups were conducted from the outset with tourism stakeholders, regulatory agencies, and visitors to the island. He said individual interviews were also conducted with various tourism stakeholders and regulatory agencies.
Gooding-Edghil said that the proposed legislation followed a series of meetings and consultations dating back to 2016.
“The request from the vacation rental property owners and operators for further dialogue is reasonable, and as a responsive and responsible government, we are prepared to pause the Bill to have further meaningful consultations.
“The Ministry of Tourism and International Transport will convene another public session to clarify any misunderstandings to answer any questions, and provide further explanations regarding the Bill,” Gooding-Edghil said, adding “and, like we have done in the past, we will advertise the town hall meeting to ensure that those owners or owners’ representatives who were not present at the last town hall meeting have an opportunity to do so”.
He said that the Tourist Accommodation Bill is about protecting the Barbados brand and “it is in no way designed to dampen demand for tourist accommodation in the vacation rental program.
“I repeat what I said on the floor of Parliament, we need the vacation rental properties as part of our accommodation offering because as we increase airlift and bring more visitors to Barbados, as we have done last year and during the winter season, that increased business will benefit the vacation rental properties as it has done based on the reported $300 million (One Barbados dollar=US$0.50 cents) of income from that sector, and the size of the reported earnings from the vacation rental properties heartens me.”
Gooding-Edghil said he is encouraging the owners and the owners’ representatives of the vacation rental properties to submit their areas of concern ahead of the planned meeting, adding, “This would also help the discussion and provide an opportunity to hear from the vacation rental owners and operators”.
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