Brainstorming for a viable tourism product

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Published February 17, 2010
Hospitality Jamaica 

Amitabh Sharma
Hospitality Jamaica Senior Writer

It was a confluence of who’s-who at the two-day Tourism Outlook Seminar, jointly organized by the Ministry of Tourism and the Jamaica Tourist Board in association with United Nations World Tourism Organization 
(UNWTO). 

The seminar, which was held from February 2 – 3 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montego Bay, brought together representatives of Caribbean governments, academia, business and regulatory agencies and Tourism associations.

Organised under the theme, Challenges, Changes and Opportunities in Tourism: Rising Above the Current Global Economic Landscape, the tourism stakeholders sought to address the key issues at hand.

One Caribbean
Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Hugh Riley advocated the marketing of the Caribbean as one regional tourism destination.

“Players in the region’s tourism industry have not yet been able to start marketing the Caribbean as one, despite years and years of discussion. This is due partly to the fact that a way has not been found to do the marketing without money,” the CTO Secretary General observed.

Tax noose
Secretary-General of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) Alec Sanguinetti criticized Caribbean governments for harming the potential of regional tourism by their reluctance to remove taxes imposed on the industry. 

Calling Caribbean tourism as “the bulls-eye for Government taxation”, he called for a more reasoned approach to taxation policy by regional governments.

Sanguinetti also appealed to ensure that the rebuilding of Haiti, which is an issue of utmost priority. He said Caribbean tourism interests must “work to maintain the focus on Haiti, or risk the country falling off the radar.”

Battle APD
On the issue of the Air Passenger Duty (APD) on air travel from the United Kingdom, Riley said countries across the Caribbean will continue to struggle if a way is not found to have the duty removed or reduced significantly.

“Take a family of four for example; the ADP will require them to pay an additional four hundred pounds on air tickets for a vacation in the Caribbean,” he said. “This will affect millions of Caribbean nationals who would want to visit family members in this region.”

Going ‘green’
The necessity of ‘greening’ tourism was also an area of focus; Cletus Springer, director, department of sustainable development, Organization of American States, in his presentation called upon development of Jamaica’s economy and society and tourism in harmony with its environment.

“Greening cannot be done in isolation, it will require the participation of all Jamaicans to take full ownership of the idea and total responsibility for its implementation,” Springer said.

He cautioned the fraternity to put careful thought and planning when developing the tourism product in Jamaica, “Tourism is a two edged sword,” he said, “and it requires careful management  to ensure it does not take out more than it brings in, depletes the environment and the ensuing development does not worsen the risk profile of the island.”

Other presenters in included, Economist Geoffrey Lipman, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the UNWTO Taleb Rifai, Carlos Vogeler, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Wayne Cummings, Director of Tourism John Lynch and LIME’s Chief Marketing Officer Christopher Dehring. Tourism Minister for the Bahamas, Vincent Vanderpool Wallace also addressed the gathering. 

amitabh.sharma@gleanerjm.com

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