Dear Sir:

Even up to appearing on the popular radio programme ‘Down to Brass Tacks Sunday’ as recently as March 25th , 2007, the Barbadian Minister of Tourism, Noel Lynch, was denying that government has borrowed any money to charter the Carnival Destiny to serve as a floating hotel for the Barbados hosted CWC matches.

He also stated that there would be ’90,000’ visitors staying on Barbados for the CWC final week and another ’75,000 cruise ship passengers’.

Following a front page headline entitled ‘Hotel Blues’ in the highest circulation newspaper, the Sunday Sun on 1st April, hoteliers across the island were complaining about dismal occupancy projections for April.

One hotelier, operating a major property on the South Coast, stated that they would be lucky to achieve a 40% occupancy level.

Another, announced that they were laying-off staff, and this in our peak winter season.

Evidence of the loan to charter Carnival Destiny was produced, and in fact the Prime Minister (Owen Arthur) had proposed such a facility (US$15 million) through a major commercial bank as early as November 2006.

Right up until 25th March Minister Lynch was boasting that 80% of the Carnival Destiny’s, 1,321 cabins had ‘been sold’.

Two days ago, he dropped the bombshell that in fact only 40% had been sold and also that the planned Air India charters had been cancelled.

As the US$15 million loan was being used as a guarantee, the Barbadian taxpayer is now faced with a massive debt for this, plus any guarantee given to Air India, while many hotels report cancellations and hundreds, if not thousands of unsold rooms.

Adrian Loveridge
Barbados