Barbados central bank comes under fire over tourism data

The governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Cleviston Haynes, was criticised for his assessment of the economy’s tourism sector by a government minister on February 14.

Haynes said growth in the tourism sector had slowed last year to an estimated 0.6%, down from 2.2% in 2018, in his latest review of the Barbados economy on January 30. Later, tourism minister Kerrie Symmonds rejected the governor’s assertion of weak performance by the sector, according to Barbados Today.

Symmonds told the newspaper: “I have no idea where the central bank governor got this information.” The industry had a “bumper year” in 2018, the minister claimed.

In the statement, Haynes said the sector’s performance and a fall in manufacturing were largely responsible for an overall reduction in economic activity in 2018. He announced the economy contracted by 0.6% last year.

However, the minister stressed the positives. “I know that it is an unquestionable fact that [in attracting tourists] out of the United Kingdom we have had the second best ever year of performance on record. Out of the United States we broke all previous records and had the best year ever, and in terms of Canada’s long-stay arrivals it has been the third best year on record,” Symmonds told the newspaper.

“So I am not sure where the statistical data came from or what informed it or what even was the cut-off point,” he added.

In response to the minister’s criticism, the central bank tells Central Banking that it obtains its tourism information from the Barbados Statistical Service and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

A spokesperson from the central bank adds that the reporter for the Barbados Times made an error. “He said that the tourism output had fallen significantly when in fact the Bank had said that output had slowed,” she says. The article incorrectly states tourism growth fell 0.6% in 2018.

Nevertheless, Symmonds reportedly acknowledged that depending on what cut-off dates were used to measure the performance of the sector, the central bank’s assessment may be correct.

He told the newspaper he was not too concerned about the numbers. “It all resonates in terms of spend and this country desperately needs the spend from our tourists if we are going to continue to maintain and sustain the quality of life that we now have,” he reportedly said.

Last year was difficult for the economy. Barbados entered into a support programme with the International Monetary Fund, and the government unveiled a series of economic reforms.

“Barbados has made an excellent start in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform programme,” said IMF mission chief Bert van Selm in December.