Grenada seeks new markets

Yet another Caribbean island is looking into the value of boosting its tourism sector by targeting regional tourism. The Grenada Tourism Board is targeting Jamaica, Trinidad, St Lucia, St Vincent and Barbados to sell its tourism products with the theme “Reborn in Grenada.” Public Relations Officer, Edwin Frank noted regional travel has a huge impact on the survival of the smaller hoteliers in particular.

Nicole Moultrie, senior marketing officer at the Grenada Board of Tourism, said Jamaican visitor arrivals accounted for 3.82 percent of total arrivals from the Caribbean between 2001 to 2007; with 2008 already surpassing the figures for the years under review in terms of arrivals, in the first quarter alone.

Wise Words...

The Annual Tourism Summit in DC last month was truly a success for various reasons. Heads of state and our regional tourism industry met with the US Congress to discuss US policy towards the Caribbean region. CARICOM agreed to back the joint "One Caribbean" marketing campaign and lastly lowly people like me were able to network and "hob nob" with individuals far more important than myself. One such person was Dr. Auliana Poon of Tourism Intelligence International - "a leading consultancy in the field of new tourism".

Hence, Dr. Poon is the ideal person to talk about how a US, and even a world, recession will affect Caribbean tourism. According to Dr. Poon;

"it is no longer a question of whether the US will go into recession, but WHEN and how deep and how long? An expert at the Berlin Hotel Investment Forum this march predicted that the recession should be short-lived, the first six months of 2008 and get better towards the second half. He predicted, however, that it is the UK economy that we should watch out for in terms of recession. We have already seen house prices taking a dip."

These type of statements and warnings have been reiterated by British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), "services companies, which account for three-quarters of the economy, saw 'alarming' declines in the second quarter of 2008". Really? With Gordon Brown, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the helm? But confidence, or lack of it, seems to be the issue at hand. BCC Director-general David Frost said: "The temptation for the Government will be to raise business taxes because the exchequer is running out of money. This would be a catastrophe...To put more pressure on business would not only restrict growth and hit the consumer hard, it would further crush what our economy is based on - confidence."

Certainly if the US goes into a recession it will definitely affect the European market. US outbound travel in 2007, according to the U.S Department of Commerce's travel branch the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI), reports that the top five countries where U.S. spent their 2007 travel dollars were: Mexico ($11.1 billion), United Kingdom ($10.5 billion), Canada ($7.6 billion), Germany ($5.9 billion) and Japan ($4.7 billion). With US spending dwindling and not traveling overseas to support the economies of their distant relatives, the Europeans, could this mean a world recession? Well, according to Dr. Poon this is all dependent on "the length, depth and impact of the [US] recession". So, at this stage, only time will tell.

However, what will this mean for the Caribbean region? "Recession in the US will encourage americans to travel less (especially to far away places like Europe) and spend less in general because of lack of confidence and fear...for the tourism sector, the most tourism-dependent economies will be affected e.g. bahamas that gets 90% of arrivals from the US". But apparently, it's not potentially all doom and gloom, "At the same time, americans who travel to Europe and far-away destinations may want to trade up these long and expensive trips for destinations closer to home e.g. the Caribbean".

Dr Poon highlights the following strategies for the Caribbean, "target the high spending, long-stay european markets (good value for money now with the strong Euro) ; develop, market and sell unique experiences (such as festivals and culture) sports, health and wellness, that cannot easily be replicated and that will encourage dedicated travellers to chose the Caribbean". Well, if it's one thing we can offer in the Caribbean, it's diversity and a completely unique experience from island to island. This, also, seems to be the new strategy planned for the joint "One Caribbean" venture being employed by the CTO and the region's tourism heads. Senator Allen Chastanet has already stated that the Caribbean region plans to diversify from the traditional US "bread basket" and actively target new emerging markets such as Russia, who are known for their significant spending when on holiday, China and India.

From the offset, it seems that times may be a bit rocky - "travel volumes may fall and competition will be tougher". But surely there is strength in numbers and with Caribbean tourism banded together as one unified front, let's see if we can pull it off and make Caribbean tourism a truly sustainable industry.

The Americas' Privileged Partner

"Tourism and manufacturing form the pillars of the islands' vibrant economy as new opportunities and incentives are set to attract overseas investment." This is the tag line of the special advertising section of the Wall Street Journal's magazine - Smart Money. Puerto Rico's tourism sector is one of the most important in the Caribbean region. In fact, it is still North America's number 1 destination spot in the West Indies, despite American Airlines' decision to pull flights by their subsidiary air carrier American Eagle. Therefore, it makes sense that Puerto Rico has invested heavily into the expansion of their tourism industry, beyond the traditional sun & fun package already offered. The construction of their Puerto Rico Convention District, built in 2005, is an attempt by the government to enter the burgeoning trade show and convention market, "which in the US and Canada alone is worth some US$12 billion annually". However, the convention centre means great news for Puerto Rico's local hotels. "While capacity, in theory, is in excess of 7,000 people, events catering for 3,500 people are more comfortably handled due to the lack of rooms available...[but], within 18 months, new hotels will be added...and the Puerto Rico Convention District is already taking bookings up to four years ahead".

The project was an initiative between Puerto Rico's public and private sector, with the privately owned commercial sector reportedly footing the majority of the bill - US$900 million to the total of US$1.6 billion. Additionally, according to the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Convention District Authority, Sanchez Biscombe, "perhaps the most positive aspect that the development of the district is having for the islands' economy and people is that all of this is not costing Puerto Ricans a cent. The US$432 million for the Convention Centre was raised through a bond issue which will be satisfied by the profits from a room tax levied on those who stay here during events, worth US$38 million in the first two and half years alone".

Richard Branson's eco-vision

British billionaire Richard Branson is putting his money where his mouth is, in his quest to cut down the world's carbon footprint and is planning a 20-villa eco-resort on one of his privately-owned Caribbean islands, curiously called, Mosquito Island. (I do wonder how it got its name.) He touts it will be the most environmentally-friendly resort on the globe on completion.

It will be powered entirely by wind turbines and solar panels, with the eco-resort's buildings capturing the trade winds, eliminating the need for air conditioners. The guests' food would come from an organic orchard, and beach buggies would be powered by biofuels.

He believes it is inexcusable for the Caribbean to continue to use dirty fuels when it has natural energy resources available, namely wind and solar, and hopes that the region, through his efforts, can lead the world in renewable alternatives to oil and gas.

But don't call around just yet to find out when you can book a villa, since apart from quite possibly carrying a hefty price tag, it's not a done deal yet. The British Virgin Islands planning department is still reviewing designs, though the government's response has been positive.

According to Dylan Penn, the planner coordinating the government's review of the project, "they are trying to go green and be environmentally friendly with every aspect of the project...which is good for the BVI because we're such a small set of islands."

Branson believes soaring oil prices may spur governments worldwide to develop their own eco-projects. With that in mind, he has created a planned-for consulting group, Virgin Green Owls, which is expected to start advising governments and corporations in carbon neutral projects this August.

Westjet goes to Barbados

As Air Canada prepares to leave Trinidad and Tobago due to high fuel cost in August 2008, Canada's second largest carrier behind Air Canada, WestJet, will be introducing seasonal non-stop service to two new international destinations in the Caribbean: Bridgetown, Barbados (four times weekly from Toronto) and La Romana, Dominican Republic, from November. These new destinations are part of WestJet's enhanced winter schedule, which will also include new service to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from various cities across Canada.

WestJet also announced increased frequencies from Toronto to Jamaica, St Lucia and the Dominican Republic and this is with cheaper fares than its competitors.

"With 20 destinations in the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean, we continue to deliver on our international expansion strategy and strengthen our position as a strong and rapidly growing player on the international scene," said Bob Cummings, WestJet Executive Vice-President of Guest Experience and Marketing. "Our current service to key vacation spots is extremely popular and with the addition of Barbados and La Romana, our guests will have more places to go for fun and relaxation in the sun this winter."

CARIBBEAN NATIONS PAY BIG FOR TOURISM PROMOTION

These fast facts are courtesy of Caribbean Property Magazine:

Caribbean nations continue to dole out big bucks to promote their tourism product in the U.S., a CWN analysis of the latest Report of the Attorney General to the Congress of the United States has found.

The semi-annual report for just the first six months in 2007 shows that six Caribbean nations spent approximately 31 million U.S. dollars for public relations services and tourism marketing across the United States.

• The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism was at the very top of the pile, doling out a whopping US$19,199,044 for the six month period ending June 30, 2007 while shelling out another $1,065,011.25 for the six month period ending June 30, 2007.

• The Cayman Islands was right behind, reporting spending $7,227,179.61 for the six month period ending March 31, 2007 for its tourism.

• The Caribbean Tourism Organization in New York reported spending $2,442,903 for the six month period ending June 30, 2007.

• The Jamaica Tourist Board reported paying their public relations agency $547,385.82 for the six month period ending March 31, 2007.

• The Dutch dependent territory of Aruba reported only $95,474.75 for the six month period ending March 31, 2007

• The Turks & Caicos reported a mere spending of $39,985 for the six month period ending March 31, 2007.

Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, Trinidad & Tobago, Dominica, Grenada, St. Martin and Belize, all failed to report their spending on the tourism front.
But they reported spending on lobbyists:

• Barbados said it paid a U.S. policy consultant $76,283.54 for the six month period ending February 28, 2007 to monitor developments in the U.S. list of countries eligible for reduced dividend withholding and U.S. legislation on the `tax haven` measure.

• Belize`s D.C. Embassy reportedly paid out $61,022.00 for the six month period ending June 30, 2007 for legal and other lobbying services.

• The British Virgin Island government paid $50,000.00 for the nine month period ending June 30, 2007 while Trinidad and Tobago paid $344,089.55 for the six month period ending February 28, 2007.

That sure is a lot of money spent to get the USA to visit the Caribbean!

Air Canada cancels Trinidad route

On the heels of discussions about how increasing fuel costs are impacting on the Caribbean, Air Canada has announced the discontinuation of its thrice weekly service to Trinidad and Tobago from August 31.

The Toronto to Port of Spain route is just one of ten routes airline will be cancelling thanks to rising fuel prices. The airline has operated this route for 60 years.

"It's a regrettable decision to have to discontinue after so many years, but it is necessary," Air Canada spokesman John Reber said, adding that an almost doubling of the airline's fuel bill over the past year had caused the airline to cut its overall capacity by seven per cent.