REDJET has had a significant impact on Barbados’s visitor arrivals from the Caribbean and Barbados’s Tourism Minister Richard Sealy has affirmed government’s commitment to supporting the local carrier as a result.

Sealy said the decision to throw support behind the airline was the “direct result” of a significant increase in visitor arrivals from the Caricom region last year following the introduction of “the new player” into the regional airline pool.

Barbados saw a 9.5 per cent increase in arrivals from Caricom in 2011 with over 35 per cent of those visitors coming from Trinidad and Sealy insisted REDjet’s entry into the marketplace had been responsible.

“It is for that reason that the Barbados government is supporting REDjet through the Barbados Tourism Authority. We have already taken that decision and we are just working out how we are going to do it,” Sealy said as he addressed local and regional journalists attending the annual CTO “State of the Industry” news conference at CTO’s Collymore Rock headquarters.

On Monday, REDjet launched a US$4.99 airfare for passengers coming into Guyana for the holiday season. The airline is looking to build a partnership with the Guyana Tourism Authority and Guyana’s tourism sector as a whole.

Acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali said: “We believe that tourism is the next big thing here in Guyana, and it is indeed going to be the centrepiece of our growth and development. The news of the new Marriott Hotel and all the new developments, and the infrasructure of the tourism sector definitely add to the value of the product that we offer out here.”

He lauded REDjet’s move to introduce affordable rates both to Guyana and the wider Caribbean.

Speaking with Caribbean Business Report from Barbados, REDjet’s CEO Ian Burns said: “We are delighted with the comments of both Minister Sealy and the CTO in Barbados. This justifies our commitment to bringing more affordable airfares to the people of the Caribbean. We have reduced the cost of travel in the region and we can help to boost its economies by allowing people to fly at a price that is not exorbitant. For too long the voice of the Caribbean travel consumer has been ignored but not anymore. Guyana has seen a 16 per cent increase in people flying there for the month of January. Barbados and Guyana has benefited the most from REDjet flights.”