Initiatives to bolster ailing Caribbean tourism industry

By Sandra Ann Baptiste Sunday, August 30 2009

Extracted from Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday Newsday

The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) is gearing up to launch the initial phase of a brand new marketing programme designed to increase the visibility of Caribbean tourism destinations and maintain the region’s competitiveness in the face of drastic changes in consumer spending.

The new CTO marketing campaign will be financed from a regional fund that has a target of US$60 million. Some of CTO’s 33 member countries will make a direct contribution while others are likely to pay for their share of the programme by introducing a surcharge on airline tickets for travel to the Caribbean originating outside the region.

In addition to raising funds from its members, cruise lines, which have a vested interest in sustaining the Caribbean tourism industry, are likely to contribute to the Caribbean regional marketing programme that will be implemented in phases as contributions come in.

CTO Secretary-General, Hugh Riley notes that consumers shop and buy differently in a recession. The CTO has therefore tuned in to the new social media, using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogging to promote the Caribbean tourism product.

With consumers looking for added value, Caribbean tourism destinations have been offering a night free, kids free and free water sports to lure tourists. The reduced spending powers of American and European visitors have seen them booking last minute and opting for the lower airfares and deep hotel discounts.

Several CARICOM member states experienced double-digit declines in visitors from the main United States market for the first five to six months of this year compared with the same period in 2008. American visitor arrivals were down in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (18 percent), St. Lucia (17.7 percent), Barbados (16 percent) and the Bahamas (14.9 percent). Curacao (32.3 percent) and Bermuda (25.8 percent) also experienced a significant drop in the number of US visitors.

Fewer European tourists came to the region over the same period. Notable declines were recorded in Grenada (16.7 percent), Antigua and Barbuda (15.3 percent), St. Lucia (12.5 percent), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (12.2 percent), Cayman Islands (10.9 percent), Barbados (9.7 percent) and The Bahamas (9.6 percent).