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WHITE PAPER ON TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN BARBADOS
As one of the steps towards the creation of the Tourism Master Plan for Barbados for 2011-2021, the Ministry of Tourism will be developing a White Paper on Tourism Development in Barbados. The White Paper will be a statement of Government’s policy on tourism development over the medium to long term. The Paper will serve as the overall policy framework within which the Master Plan will be elaborated. The formulation of the White Paper will be overseen by the Tourism Advisory Council, chaired by Dr. Sherma Roberts. How does a White Paper differ from a Green Paper?
A White Paper is a parliamentary paper which lays out the government’s policy or proposed action on a topic of current concern. It may be the precursor to the passing of new legislation. Green papers on the other hand are consultation documents which propose strategies to be implemented or which may set out proposals on which the government wishes to obtain public views and opinion.
What is the objective of the White Paper on Tourism Development in Barbados?
Phase 1:
(i) The development of the Discussion Document that will form the basis for town hall meetings and stakeholder consultations. (ii) The development of a link on the website of the MOT that will permit contributions and/or comments from Barbados residents and the Diaspora. (iii) The development of social media modes of communication that will permit contributions and/or comments from Barbados residents and the Diaspora. Phase 2: (i) The review, publication, and dissemination of the Discussion Document to the public. (ii) Press launch of the White Paper public consultation process. Phase 3: (i) The convening of public consultations involving Town Hall meetings across Barbados:
(ii) Monitoring and mining of data on social media sites. Compilation of comments received via e-mail and regular mail.
Phase 4: (i) Roundtable consultations with selected industry stakeholders. (ii) Individual consultations with selected stakeholders. Phase 5: (i) Contextualizing the data gathered from consultations, social media sites etc. (ii) Production of the Draft White Paper. THE DISCUSSION DOCUMENT
A Discussion Document has been prepared to provide an in-depth analysis of current international and national practices and policies as it pertains to tourism development and destination management. This work draws heavily on case studies as well as academic thought and research. The objectives of this Discussion Document are to:
(i) Identify and analyze current perspectives on tourism policy and practice;
(ii) Evaluate issues which are critical to tourism development and destination management; (iii) Analyze and evaluate current tourism policy and developments in Barbados; (iv) Demonstrate the applicability of the policies within the Barbadian context.
During the period December 2010 to February 2011, this Discussion Document was used to frame the dialogue with members of the general public and key stakeholders during Phases 3 and 4 of the process of the developing the Draft White Paper. During phase 3 Town Hall Meetings, including a special forum for the youth, were held to facilitate consultation with the general public on issues of importance to tourism development.
The public consultation stage of the process has been completed and the facilities for comments are now closed. The Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Advisory Council would sincerely like to thank all persons who attended the Town Hall Meetings and submitted comments online, as well as the participants of the Youth Consultation. UPDATE ON THE WHITE PAPER DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
The process of preparing the Draft White Paper has entered Phase 4. The Round Table Discussions with partner agencies have been completed. These Round Table Discussions addressed the following broad areas of Tourism:
i. Tourism Product: People
We also take this opportunity to offer sincerest gratitude to partner agencies and tourism stakeholders who have contributed to the development of the Draft White Paper.
One of the main activities of the next phase of this process will be the analysis of the comments, suggestions and other information which have been gathered from members of the general public, partner agencies, tourism interests, visitors, and other stakeholders over the last four months.
Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre Two Mile Hill St. Michael, BB11093 Barbados
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Facsimile: (246) 436-4828 OR
Telephone queries should be made to:
Mrs. Renee Taitt
at (246) 430-7500
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Ministry of Tourism
"Encouraging Sustainable Tourism Development"