THE Barbados Association of Event Professionals (BAEP) and the Entertainment Association of Barbados (EAB) are collectively looking forward to the establishment of a direct strategic dialogue and participation with the social partnership as a part of future public-private sector consultations.
This was articulated in a joint statement issued yesterday in which the two bodies weighed in on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the island, specifically social activities and by extension livelihoods of many in the industry.
“We are ready to do what is necessary to move past this current setback, and to help to rebuild the economy and maintain the safe ‘bubble’ that makes Barbados a successful pandemic management model and attractive destination.
It was suggested that this industry which has been one of the hardest hit during the pandemic has been essentially vilified for the local spread which was not of their own making.
Stressing that the organisations are in no way endorsing the staging of events not sanctioned by the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit, concern was raised that entertainers and producers are feeling the impact of government’s decision to apportion blame to others without acknowledging its own role in the escalation of cases in Barbados.
“Over the past five months, encouraged by government, our members have successfully staged COVID-19 compliant events, within set limits and restrictions, without incidence. It is against this background that the EAB and the BAEP find it considerably regrettable that following the revelation of an increase in the local spread of the pandemic, the Government felt it prudent to use the unfortunate infection of patrons who attended a Boxing Day Bus Crawl to cast blame in the events and entertainment industry and nullify our long-standing efforts to operate safely in a COVID-19 environment.”
It was noted that the hasty labelling of the event as a “super-spreader” by the government, despite PAHO’s determination that such was too early to assess, sought to herald and vilify the event as the primary cause of the present situation, in which the country now finds itself, with respect to the increasing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The industry professionals expressed concern about the “relaxation” of protocols for visitors coming from high-risk countries, particularly at a time of the year that is one of our most socially active; Christmas and new year celebrations.”
“While we understand the need to stimulate our economy through facilitating the ability of our tourism sector to generate revenue during the winter season, it is evident that with the increased number of visitors, came the breakdown of the systems instituted by government which protected the island for several months.
“Delays in test results, coupled with visitors breaching and ignoring protocols, aided by the accommodation sector failing to manage guests while in quarantine, may be the reason why hundreds of unsuspecting locals have been exposed to COVID-19.
“Regrettably, the failure of the authorities to manage the breaches in the early stages, along with the fact that locals existed in a false sense of security, as noted in the recently government-endorsed horse racing event, perhaps let their guard down, and patrons of the bus crawl fell victim.”
The BAEP and EAB expressed confidence that had the producer, the bus company or patrons been aware of the inherent risk, the bus crawl would have been postponed or cancelled.
“In the absence of timely communication, local spread was the result. The myriad of documented and unofficial accounts of the flouting of protocols have left much to be desired. The reluctance by government to acknowledge culpability in the face of such breaches on any other sector other than the events and entertainment sector, in the form of bans and fines, is unfortunate.”
The entertainment bodies lamented that the “constant berating and public castigation by government” results in an unjustified public perception that impacts negatively on businesses. “The longer we as a nation fail to control the impact of the virus locally, the longer we as an industry will suffer the curtailment of our business through government enforcement as a measure to control the spread of the virus.”
“It is our hope that our partners in the tourism industry, venues and food and beverage establishments, will join us in what we have been doing for months, working closely with COVID-19 Monitoring Unit in seeking to conduct business in a safe environment for everyone without incident.”
Despite the nature of the recent narrative, the industry representatives commended government on their response to the pandemic since the inception of the impact on Barbados.