September 16th 2022
Sargassum Fight
by Barbados Today.bb
Officials in Barbados and other Caribbean islands are being encouraged to take a more collaborative approach to managing the menacing sargassum seaweed, which hoteliers say continues to impact beachgoers and vacation seekers.
At the same time, some regional tourism industry operators are reporting a ramping up of effort to deal with the ongoing issue, as they outlined some best practices from which other destinations can learn.
Chief Tourism Officer with the Ministry of Tourism in Belize Raymond Mossiah said given the magnitude of the problem, the government in his country in 2015 established a “multi-sectoral task force” to get a handle on the situation.
“This task force was a public-private sector partnership. Collaboration is important,” he said, noting that the hotel association and academia are involved.
Mossiah said the challenge with sargassum should not only be seen as a tourism problem given the far-reaching impact it could have on economic activity.
“We have other stakeholders that also need to pull their weight. It is extremely important because the tourism industry is bearing the brunt of it and understandably so, but when you look at the economic impact of tourism and visitation, whether it be domestic, regional or international visitors, there is a tremendous multiplier effect that spreads throughout the economy,” he explained.
“It is therefore important that we address this sargassum issue because besides foreign exchange earnings, it has a tremendous impact on the circular flow of money throughout the economy,” he added.
Acknowledging that managing the seaweed influx could be very costly, Mossiah said the Belize Government had to provide tax relief to hoteliers.
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