Q : What does a Consul in your capacity do ? What parts of America are covered by the Consulate and what are the services it provides ?
A : My jurisdiction is the state of Texas and I do a plethora of things , from helping Barbadians obtain legal advice , to seeking and facilitating business opportunities , and more . Of course , I seek to promote business opportunities between Barbados and Texas , as well as provide information to anyone considering visiting Barbados , which could be for business , or as a tourist destination , or for anything else . Barbados ’ primary industry is tourism , replacing sugar production of the past .
Q : What are some past , present and future goals for Barbados ’ relationship with the U . S .?
A : Barbados has a long history with the United States . It goes as far back as the 1700s . with the Carolinas . Many may not realize that some of South Carolina ’ s first governors were Barbadians . In the early 1700s Barbados had become one of the richest British colonies from sugar and the developers of the industry had sought to expand to the Carolinas .
Q : What are some big picture issues facing Barbados today ?
A : The economy is our biggest issue is today . Many of the Caribbean islands were impacted heavily by the global economic downturn of a decade ago , and they are still recovering . Also the United States made some rule changes to the banking system which has made transactions a little more complicated , but the country is dynamic and is coping with that . Really , what we are also looking for is more investment . Tourism generates a sizeable part of the economy , but does not cover all of the needs that we have .
Q : How is the Barbadian business community uniquely positioning itself to help Americans who are interested in doing business in Barbados ?
A : Currently , there are agencies in our Consulates that specifically deal with business development . Seminars are frequently conducted across the U . S . Also Barbados offers very favorable tax incentives to investors
Q : What does a Consul in your capacity do ? What parts of America are covered by the Consulate and what are the services it provides ?
A : My jurisdiction is the state of Texas and I do a plethora of things , from helping Barbadians obtain legal advice , to seeking and facilitating business opportunities , and more . Of course , I seek to promote business opportunities between Barbados and Texas , as well as provide information to anyone considering visiting Barbados , which could be for business , or as a tourist destination , or for anything else . Barbados ’ primary industry is tourism , replacing sugar production of the past .
Currently , I serve as the Liaison to the Medical Center for the Houston Consular Corps and I was also invited to be a member of the International Affairs Advisory Council in the Texas Medical Center . I also served as chair for two years .
Q : What are some past , present and future goals for Barbados ’ relationship with the U . S .?
A : Barbados has a long history with the United States . It goes as far back as the 1700s . with the Carolinas . Many may not realize that some of South Carolina ’ s first governors were Barbadians . In the early 1700s Barbados had become one of the richest British colonies from sugar and the developers of the industry had sought to expand to the Carolinas .
Areas that we are very interested in developing now are medical tourism and the kinds of businesses where a highly educated populace is desired . We have a 98 % literacy rate – one of the highest in the world – and a very high percentage of people with college degrees . I really want to have exchanges in the field of education
36 iF Magazine | February 2018 covering the hospitality industry , the medical field , business and investments . Most of our tourism comes from Europe and Canada and we would like to increase the volume of U . S . visitor traffic . We are a bit further away from the U . S . than other frequented travel destinations in the Caribbean and one of our goals is to increase the number of direct flights to Barbados .
Q : What are some big picture issues facing Barbados today ?
A : The economy is our biggest issue is today . Many of the Caribbean islands were impacted heavily by the global economic downturn of a decade ago , and they are still recovering . Also the United States made some rule changes to the banking system which has made transactions a little more complicated , but the country is dynamic and is coping with that . Really , what we are also looking for is more investment . Tourism generates a sizeable part of the economy , but does not cover all of the needs that we have .
One can consider Barbados an urban country . It is a small country with a population of just under 300 , 000 ; it is well developed and has an outstanding education system , a highly literate populace , as well as a developed communications and transportation infrastructure . In other words , areas of investment that require well educated workforce would present viable opportunities .
Q : How is the Barbadian business community uniquely positioning itself to help Americans who are interested in doing business in Barbados ?
A : Currently , there are agencies in our Consulates that specifically deal with business development . Seminars are frequently conducted across the U . S . Also Barbados offers very favorable tax incentives to investors
doing business . There are no minerals and the like , but it offers potential for high quality products in the service and knowledge industries , such as software development and others . Because of its history in the sugar industry , Barbados produces and exports some of the best rum in the world and is home to the oldest rum refinery in the world .
Many Barbadians themselves leave the country and become highly skilled in a variety of fields . What happens is that some of the brightest leave and find it difficult to return even when they would like to . This is primarily due to the lack of opportunities in their specialty fields . Barbados is currently working towards improving in these areas . What I would like to see are resources made available as incentives for many of them to return and contribute to the country ’ s development , for instance research and development in the areas of science and technology . However , financial restraints may make this difficult for a small country like Barbados , but I think with collaborative relationships with external entities such as academic institutions and other industries could make it viable .