The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) is concerned with the low level of workers in the sector and is worried that even more workers are eyeing the cruise ship industry.
BHTA chief executive officer, Rudy Grant said that many of the workers laid off at the height of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had not returned to the industry and that an offer of up to 1,000 jobs from the world’s second-largest cruise line operator, Royal Caribbean Group, could worsen the situation.
“The reality is that I think workers would have been looking to see and to ensure regardless of the things that were happening, that they would still be able to survive. So it wasn’t surprising in an environment that is still very fluid and with the sector that has been impacted the most that you are seeing people looking at other opportunities,” Grant told reporters.
“Further, you have situations where you had RCL, for example, that is now looking to recruit Barbadian workers to work on their cruise lines and I think individuals will be looking at opportunities, particularly in an environment where, because of COVID and because of the war that is taking place, you are seeing the supply chain impacted, not only with respect to the goods and in getting the supply of the goods but also with respect to the fact that prices are going up.
The BHTA official said the association is compiling data from tourism bosses to get a more detailed understanding of the problems and the main areas where the void of workers exists.
“We have had preliminary discussions with the Minister of Tourism as well as the Minister of Education. Our expectation is that we will soon have the relevant stakeholders including the Ministry of Labour to discuss this issue and determine how best we can go forward,” said Grant.
Grant said he remains optimistic that a solution to the situation could be found given the importance of the sector to Barbados’ economy.
“What we have to do is ensure that we are able to secure this industry and that we are able to ensure that we secure one of the most important and critical resource aspects and that relates to the workers,” said Grant.
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