Barbados

TOURISM TROUBLE. The tourism sector is taking a beating, with visitor arrivals continuing to slide, reports The Nation (June 21, 2002). With room occupancy at most properties well below capacity, properties are sending home staff and closing sections. Elegant Hotels, the largest hotel property ower on the island, has already informed staff it is temporarily closing two of its West Coast properties (Coconut Creek Hotel and Tamarind Cove Hotel), both in St James), until mid-October. Port St Charles Marina confirmed it was scaling back guests services and sending home staff. The cuts at Port St Charles have resulted from "very poor" rental of the luxury villas that make up the multi-million dollar complex, and came one day after the company confirmed it was cutting back construction and sending home between 60 and 100 workers because of sagging sales. John Martineau, Second V.P. of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, noted that while a slowdown in tourist arrivals was traditional at this time of year, there was clear evidence to suggest it was much more pronounced this time around.

YACHT LOSS. Not one luxury yacht of its type has visited Barbados since January last year when the multi-million-dollar Virginian was impounded off the St James coast after its anchor damaged a sizeable area of coral reef, reports The Nation (June 20, 2002). That's because Barbados has been apparently blacklisted as an island with no clear rules on how or where these vessels can be anchored. Thomas Herbert, general manager of Port St Charles Marina in St Peter, said they were still feeling the impact of the incident. "The word has spread and the captains of these vessels are saying that in the absence of clear guidelines, they will not run the risk of having them...