Live in Barbados

An article in today’s Barbados Advocate:

Artificial islands a viable option?

It is no secret that the available land space in this country is quite limited, and with more and more tourism-related developments popping up every and anywhere, some Barbadians are starting to wonder if there will be enough land left for them to own a piece of the rock.

It is for this reason, as well as the fact that tourism is our mainstay and needs every opportunity to progress and expand, that I think the idea of creating artificial islands off of the West Coast of Barbados is not a bad idea. That proposal, put forward by real estate magnate Paul Altman, has been on the table for about a year now and as I understand it, would consist of a 250-acre island that would house new tourism-based developments and a second with a size of 50 acres, to serve as a national park. Certainly, not only would it provide alternative accommodation for the tourists who visit these shores and provide employment for more Barbadians, but it could make this country more attractive to the more affluent tourists, which could mean more foreign exchange.

Indeed, this concept of creating islands would be somewhat new to the Caribbean region. Yes, countries have reclaimed land before, Barbados included – the current site of the Bridgetown Deep Water Harbour is what was Pelican Island – but to go to the extent of actually developing an island off the coast has not been done. However, I do think that it would serve to raise our stakes where the tourism industry is concerned.

Read full article here.

Personally I find this very concerning from an environmental impact.  Reports on the grape vine of the artificial islands in Dubai suggest the islands need round the clock maintenance to stop them from washing away.  The real estate market in Dubai has crashed and with that the influx of income to maintain the islands will surely diminish.

BPL would like to know your opinion on this controversial topic!

The level of reported crime in Barbados is lower than what it was twenty years ago and that is a fact.

That is according to Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin who assured the public that the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) is not “cooking the figures.” His comments came at the launch of the neighbourhood watch programme at Newbury Heights St. George on Sunday evening.

“When I say to people that the level of reported crime in our country is lower than it was 20 years ago they look at me in amazement. Some people cannot believe that it is true. Some people believe that we are cooking the figures,” said Commissioner Dottin.

“What happens is that there are times when you will get some particularly serious crimes that excite public opinion and [are] scattered across the newspapers so people feel a sense of dread when we get reports of those particularly serious crimes… but the reality is that reported crime in Barbados is actually lower than it was 20 years ago,” he continued.

The Police Commissioner said that despite a low crime rate there are still some difficulties, particularly due to a pervasive drug culture.

See full article from the Barbados Advocate here.

A Lancashire leisure tycoon has handed the keys to a luxury Caribbean holiday home to a children’s hospice in a bid to raise cash.

John Morphet, the Preston-born multi-millionaire, has given the two-bedroomed apartment on his exclusive Royal Westmoreland Estate on the island of Barbados to Chorley’s Derian House to rent out over the next year.

He hopes it will help raise up to £50,000 towards the £2.25m annual running costs for the hospice, which cares for children with terminal or life-threatening illnesses.

Mr Morphet, who still has a home in Milnthorpe on the Lancashire-Cumbria border, said he was inspired to help the charity after learning it receives less than 10% of its funding from the Government.

See full article here.

The most coveted trophy in local horse racing arrived at the Grantley Adams International Airport yesterday, signalling the countdown towards the most prestigious thoroughbred horse race in the southern Caribbean – the Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup.

Piloted by Loraine Raincock, the Boeing 777 touched down around 3:50 p.m., bringing with it the solid gold trophy for the Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup. Raincock is the first female to have made the trip with the Gold Cup, continuing a tradition that began in 1984.

Back then the cup was transported aboard a Boeing 747, and from 1985 until 2000 aboard the Concorde. Raincock noted BA was proud to continue the tradition of bringing the Gold Cup home for yet another year.

“We are also pleased to be a part of a great and wonderful partnership with the Sandy Lane Hotel. We fully recognise the significance of the Gold Cup event to Barbados and to your visitors, some of whom would have flown with us today.

See full article here.

Caribbean property could see prices increase by a regional average of up to 5%, international property investment consultancy Property Frontiers has announced. The firm says that as international buyers return and tourism climbs back onto its feet developers will seize the opportunity to start reversing any discounts or price falls from as early as April.

“Overseas property sales have been increasing since last April, and the Caribbean has seen among the fastest growth in sales volumes. This is because lifestyle buyers, mostly wealthy ones have been predominant in the market, and the Caribbean is the ultimate lifestyle choice,” said David Cox director of the firm.

“Lifestyle buyers had kept the Caribbean markets going anyway, so prices didn’t have to come down in most places. This leaves developers well placed to capitalise on the increasing demand to increase their turnover,” he added.

See full article here.

Crop Over in Barbados is where we Trinis, at least those who are not doing the North American summer jaunts, head after Carnival to continue having a good time. The festival took its name from the days of slavery when the end of the sugar harvest would take place. Crop Over, having been reintroduced in 1973 by the then Board of Tourism, after it had been absent for many years, is the second largest economic activity after Christmas to reap the island a handsome revenue each year.

See full article here.

Barbados will soon have a direct non-stop flight from South America.

Starting Summer 2010, GOL, the second largest airline in Brazil, will operate a Boeing 737 from Sao Paulo to Bridgetown once a week on Saturdays, with same-plane connections to Buenos Aires, Argentina and connections to Rio de Janeiro at no additional cost.  This will be the second scheduled service from Sao Paulo in Barbados’ history. In the mid-nineties, BWIA operated a flight from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago through Barbados to Sao Paulo.

The new service was born out of meetings which the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA), aided by Hon. Consul to Brazil, Jorge Nemr, held with GOL in Sao Paulo and in Barbados in August and September last year. Since then the parties have been in constant contact via e-mail and telephone. The flight will be promoted from March, 2010.

See full article here.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BTA) — Tourism, long believed by economic pundits to be the sector to pull Barbados out of the global economic recession, is already showing tremendous signs of improvement in 2010.

Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) preliminary figures show a 5.3 per cent increase in arrivals as at January 29 over the previous period in 2010, while official 2009 figures show that tourism officials met their target with the sector waning by 8.6 per cent. Early 2009 predictions were for a performance in the region of -8.5 per cent.

At a recent press conference Tourism Minister Richard Sealy, commended the captains of the industry for their sterling efforts that saw job losses kept at a minimal. Meanwhile a number of businesses that buckled under the recession reopened under new management and new branding.

See full article here.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) — The Barbados government aims to achieve a deficit in the region of 2.1 per cent of the island’s gross domestic product (GDP), through the prudent financial management of its finances.
Minister of Economic Affairs, Empowerment, Innovation, Trade, Industry and Commerce, David Estwick, promised to reduce government’s expenditure, while addressing the Business Network International Week breakfast meeting. The event was held on Tuesday, at the Dining Club, Newton Industrial Estate, Christ Church.

Emphasising that the country had not escaped the challenges precipitated by the current global economic crisis, he revealed that Barbados’ real GDP contracted by 5.3 per cent; unemployment increased from 8.1 per cent in 2008, to just over 10 per cent in 2009 and the fiscal deficit widened from 6.4 per cent to 8.4 per cent of the GDP.

See full article here.

Tomorrow morning at 6am, a friend of BPL’s is kicking off a Guiness World Record Attempt.

Al Sandeman is attempting to set a new world record for the most amount of birdies (Golf) in one day.

He is attempting to fit in 8 rounds of golf in the 12hrs allocated him.

The Sandy Lane Hotel has kindly allowed him to use the Country Club for his World Record Attempt.

Furthermore, Al is turning the challenge into an opportunity to raise money for charity; The Sandy Lane Charitable Trust.

It is a late call, but I would like to offer all those that read our blogs the opportunity to sponsor Al’s attempt with a Bds$ amount per birdie; Al is aiming for 40!

Please email all offers to maxwell.mulligan@barbadospropertylist.com

Thanx and have a great day!