The White Paper on the Development of Tourism 2012-2021, which was recently approved in Parliament, is now available on the website of the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS).

The document, the product of numerous consultations with the people of Barbados, visitors to the island and stakeholders in the industry, serves as a policy to direct tourism development in the medium to long term and stresses the importance of recognising Barbadians as the core element for all tourism efforts.

It is seen as a guiding statement for the future of tourism on the island and is another step towards the creation of a Tourism Master Plan, which will seek to place Barbados as an up-market destination, with a focus on the key elements including friendliness, cleanliness and value for money.

Going forward, the National Tourism Policy will embrace development in pivotal areas including: emphasising nationalism as a brand and prominently marketing and promoting a culture of excellence as a national priority; employing a more strategic, targeted and scientific approach to the marketing and promotion of the Barbados tourism industry and the establishment of institutional frameworks to develop sustainable niche products such as volun-tourism, agro-tourism, youth tourism, community tourism and cultural heritage tourism.

With regard to the built environment, the document states that there will be the enforcement of the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act and Physical Development Plan to arrest the demolition of and other infringements to listed buildings or those of architectural and historical significance. Additionally, accessible tourism and support for the Fully Accessible Barbados programme and sensitivity training for tourism sector employees were mentioned as means of accommodating the disabled.

To access the document, person may visit the ???Downloads’ section of the ???Media’ menu on the BGIS’ website, https://www.gisbarbados.gov.bb/

nekaelia.hutchinson@barbados.gov.bb

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