Tourists arriving in the island. (Photo by Akil Franklin)
By Kiara Smith on Tuesday, 22 March, 2022 at 05:08 PM
Test cricket matches have increased the number of visitors to Barbados and some hoteliers have benefited from this event.
The cricket matches, which took place between the 16th and 20th March at the Kensington Oval, have earned the country some foreign exchange as the tourists used the trip as an opportunity to not only be entertained by the sport; but to explore Barbados as well.
General manager of The Courtyard by Marriott, Kelly-Ann Mayers, said, “The sports tourism has definitely made an impact on pretty much the overall occupancy for the hotel, so we are definitely thankful, and we are hopeful that we can see more opportunities like this throughout the year.”
She added that they are a corporate hotel and compared to other resorts used for leisure, they have had slow returns, which is why they depend on the initiatives like cricket matches by the Government and Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.
General manager of the Infinity Hotel, Kenni Hutson, said that business is good for now, but they are expecting lower numbers by the end of April.
“It is just a matter of hoping and wishing that we would find some sort of incentive to lure guests back to our island during different periods.”