by Brian Major
Last updated: 4:30 PM ET, Tue January 13, 2015
Photo: Barbados' Parliament building is one of several historic structures in historic Bridgetown. (Courtesy of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.)
Barbados' Preservation Foundation Trust is attempting to do for the islands' historic sites what government and private stakeholders are undertaking in the travel sector: a revitalization and restoration of the country's once-robust tourist arrivals. The group this week announced the formation of a task force to attract funding to renovate several historic national structures currently in disrepair.
The cost of restoring the sites is expected to stretch into the millions of dollars, said Henry Fraser, an architectural historian and the board's chairman. "The task is to raise the millions we need to preserve our precious built heritage," he said.
Fraser called the worn yet stately sites "the derelict dozen built treasures in the crown" and noted that as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Barbados' capital city of Bridgetown and its historic Garrison district place the country in the company of some of the most celebrated global tourism destinations. "[It states] to the world the importance of our famous Garrison, the jewel in the crown, and our ancient city," he said.
The projects include ancient chattel houses along Bridgetown's Bay Street along with Culloden Farm, the official residence of Errol Barrow, Barbados' outspoken first prime minister. Fraser also identified the Barbados Public Library, built in 1906 with a grant of $12,150 from industrialist Andrew Carnegie, the adjacent Supreme Court of 1733, the Old Eye Hospital of 1805 and Glendairy Prison.
The first projects will focus exclusively on Bridgetown and begin with restoration of the Barbados Public Library, said Fraser. A recent survey funded in part by the U.S. Embassy in Barbados estimated the work would cost $1 million.
"It's hoped that restoration of the adjacent Supreme Court building will follow," Fraser said. "This area of the historic core of Bridgetown will be an inspiration to us all," said Fraser. "But we must find similar private/public partnerships to restore our magnificent lighthouses and other structures."
Barbados' government is also launching initiatives to reverse Barbados' tourism downturn in recent years. In 2014 Christopher Sinckler, Barbados' minister of finance and economic affairs announced an overhaul of its tourism legislation to provide an enhanced menu of incentives to tourism companies, including tax relief on imports including food and beverage products. The overhaul will formalize incentives originally provided to Sandals Resorts International (SRI), he said.
SRI will open the Sandals Barbados resort on January 28, and also launch construction shortly on a new Beaches Barbados resort on the site of the former Almond Beach Resort in Barbados' St. Peter parish. "The concessions which Sandals got, all the others will get but they will get it permanently, in permanent legislation that they call on each and every time they require it," Sinckler said.
Last year Barbados' Ministry of Tourism created two agencies, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) and the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA), to replace the Barbados Tourism Authority.
BTMI will direct destination marketing initiatives while BTPA focuses "on the development and improvement of the island's current and future tourism offerings," said government officials in a statement. The agencies will "work towards the ultimate goal of driving island tourism and increasing destination awareness."
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