A new passport-free travel agreement between Barbados and Guyana is unlikely to deliver an immediate boost to trade or investment and may prove largely symbolic unless longstanding airport processing delays are addressed, according to prominent economist Jeremy Stephen.

While the initiative has been hailed by some as a historic leap towards deeper Caribbean integration, Stephen suggested the policy is largely “ceremonial” and unlikely to spark an immediate boom in trade or investment, unless deep-seated administrative bottlenecks at regional airports are dismantled.

Under the new arrangement, citizens of both nations can travel between Bridgetown and Georgetown using only official national identification cards. While the policy removes a traditional administrative layer, Stephen argued that the move tackles a barrier that was never a major deterrent to regional travel.