Hopes for a rebound in tourism arrivals this summer have been dealt a blow with airlift out of the United Kingdom (UK), one of the island’s main source markets, facing significant cuts.The London-based Heathrow Airport, which is struggling to cope with high demand and a lack of resources, has asked airlines to put a hold on selling tickets for travel this summer as it limits passengers to 100 000 a day from July 12 to September 11.In response to the development, Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Renee Coppin expressed concern that emerging global trends continue to threaten the recovery of the industry and dampen the pent-up demand for travel.Noting that the island is already faced with the challenge of significantly reduced airlift across all markets, which translates to lower arrival numbers, occupancy levels, and business across the entire tourism sector, she told Barbados TODAY: “Our reports indicate that there will be 18 523 [fewer] inbound seats from the UK market for the remaining summer months July to October 2022, when compared to our last normal year of operation in 2019.
