Hello,

Can I suggest a Barbadian booking company online to earn foreign exchange. Priceline is the company that runs bookings. com, expedia, kayak and a lot of affiliated booking companies that take 15% of bookings. They earn billions each year. Tourists can pay 10% commission for bookings of hotels, apartments ect. but pay foreign currency at the airport in Barbados and avoid credit card fees. A facility at the airport can be set up to change foreign exchange for a local travellers cheque to avoid walking out of the airport with cash. The travellers cheques can pay hotels for accommodation or hotel bills can be paid at the airport as well.

Tourists can save on paying credit card service charges.

Tourists can send their confirmation flight info as proof of travelling to Barbados to ensure they are coming to Barbados. Fast service with transactions with foreign exchange has to be done to avoid delays with tired tourists or reps can be sent to hotels to collect foreign exchange.

This will generate more inflows of foreign exchange instead of allowing booking companies abroad collect money that can be collected here.

Can I also suggest Barbados get more active with their Barbados Stock Exchange and work with other islands to invest and gain profits.

More island tours can be estsblished to generate jobs such as the Plantation Garden Theater Cabaret Show. 

Exercise classes for tourists with soca music. 

A Bridgetown walking tour highlighting the old buildings and churches. A tour of the Jewish Synagogue and ancestral name searching for lots of cruiseship passengers and other tourists interested in searching their roots. A stop at Queen's Park for a Bajan snack and drink.

Incorporate all this in one price so the tour guide get a part of the payment.

I hope my suggestions can be of assistance to generating ways to make money for locals and Barbados.

Best regards,

Abigail Hettgen