Duty-free sales were in decline at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) before the COVID-19 pandemic caused tourism to collapse in March 2020.
This is evident in the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s (BCCI) Duty Free Report 2021.
The BCCI’s duty-free facility at the GAIA ceased operations on March 31, 2021, having operated since 1959.
BCCI president Anthony Branker explained a year ago that “with the limited activity at the facility attributed to the significant reduction in the number of flights, and with the impending changes to the sector which were expected as a consequence of the new duty-free policy, the facility was no longer viewed as a viable operation; hence, the chamber took the decision in 2020 to scale down/discontinue the operations of the facility”. (SC)
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