BARBADOS: Brexit May Affect Barbados Tourism

Tourism prospects for Barbados remain negative despite Tuesday’s ruling by the Supreme Court in Britain that parliament must give the go-ahead for the government to begin talks to leave the European Union (EU), political scientist Peter Wickham has said.

The judgment means that Prime Minister Theresa May cannot begin talks with the EU until MPs and peers give their backing –– although this is expected to happen in time for the government’s March 31 deadline to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and get formal exit negotiations with the EU underway.

“I think the obvious implication is that the direction of the UK out of the Brexit still holds . . . . The pound has continued to slide . . . the environment in the UK is extremely unstable economically and I think the level of uncertainty which will affect our tourism is still very real,” Wickham said.

He said there was nothing to suggest that the ruling would help people feel more comfortable about the situation to the point where Barbados’ tourism would benefit.

“This decision has not helped the situation,” Wickham insisted.

Soon after the ruling was announced, Brexit secretary David Davis promised a parliamentary bill “within days”.

The measure is expected to receive approval with both government and opposition parliamentarians promising not to derail the process.

During the Supreme Court hearing, campaigners had argued that denying the UK parliament a vote was undemocratic and a breach of longstanding constitutional principles.

The Guyana-born investment manager Gina Miller, one of the campaigners who brought the case against the government, said her victory was “not about politics, but process”.