| Interview - Rising to the challenge |
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Like all its competitors, the Caribbean region must find ways of sustaining and developing its tourism industry during the global economic crisis. Julian Armfield meets Hugh Riley, acting Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), to discover how the region plans to survive and prosper as the financial storm clouds continue to gather.
Q Hugh, how extensive is your knowledge of the Caribbean tourism industry? Before joining the CTO in 2002, I enjoyed ten years with the Barbados Tourism Authority. During that time, I ran its offices in Caribbean countries and in Latin America. I was then the CTO’s Director of Marketing for the Americas until last year when I assumed the role of interim Secretary General. Q You must be greatly concerned by the effect the current global economic crisis might have on the Caribbean tourism industry? We are, of course, aware of the seriousness of the situation but our 33 member countries are pulling together in tremendous fashion to keep the Caribbean competitive in these difficult times. The Caribbean is not unaccustomed to challenge but this particular one is different to anything we have seen before. Encouragingly, it has engendered an enthusiastic circling of the wagons among our member countries and the search for solutions is being energetically driven, both at a national and regional level. The economic downturn has, undoubtedly, enforced a sense of national and regional pride. Q Are all member countries affected by the current financial situation? The US, which is experiencing its worst economic climate since the Great Depression of the 1930s, is the number one supplier of visitors to the Caribbean, but not all of our members depend heavily on America. Others get business in greater measure from the UK, continental Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. But this crisis is global so, yes, all of our members are affected because their source markets are suffering from it. Q What measures are your member states taking at a national level to keep the Caribbean competitive? Countries are pulling together coalition groups to tackle issues that go beyond the marketing of tourism. Some have looked at matters like reducing operational costs. Some have looked at providing incentives to hotels and tourism ancillary services. Some have looked at alternative sources of energy. All have looked at ways of staying visible and competitive and that includes enhancing the experience and value that a visitor gets at the destination. Q How about measures being taken at a regional level? This is, of course, the focus of the CTO’s attention, and we have been encouraged by the way our countries have gotten together with the private sector to look at implementing solutions that will keep the Caribbean competitive. Some of the results of these endeavours have been visible in recent months. For instance, there have been offers out there in Caribbean destinations that you would not normally see during the peak tourism season. And you will have noticed the tremendous increase in the amount of publicity that the Caribbean, as a region, is getting both electronically and in the print media, stressing the advantages of a Caribbean holiday. Q What advantages are you stressing? One advantage is our proximity to our source markets, compared to our competitors. Another is the tremendous value of a Caribbean holiday. Now is the time for those who have only dreamt about a vacation in some exotic Caribbean country to stop dreaming and take that holiday, because the prices now available will probably never be on offer again. Q How do you keep the cost of a Caribbean holiday competitive while still maintaining profitability? That’s a very fine line, but we have been highly encouraged by the amount of enthusiasm on the part of our private sector partners to address this issue. All have played their part, from hotels to airlines, tour operators and vacation packagers. In the case of airlines, we must ensure that the carriers who ply the relevant routes are able to stay in business. Q Do you have a central fund to help member countries implement the various initiatives? The Caricom governments agreed last year to create a substantial sustainable marketing fund. This is enabling us to market the Caribbean aggressively, both to the rest of the world and within the Caribbean region. We are focusing on unity and strength. This is not a time when individual destinations should attempt to go it on their own. Q What measures are you taking to encourage Caribbean people to take vacations within the region? Our members are increasingly promoting themselves as holiday destinations for those who live within the Caribbean region. It is a fact of life that people will always aspire to travel to far-off destinations rather than explore their own neighbourhood. When I lived in New York, I frequently met native New Yorkers who had never visited the Statue of Liberty but who had travelled extensively overseas. Yet, Caribbean people love Caribbean destinations. They appreciate that there are wonderful places to visit right on their own doorstep, and we are actively encouraging them to explore the region. Q What are the principle attractions offered by Caribbean destinations to those who live within the region? There is just so much variety. We have four different languages – English, French, Spanish and Dutch – and our cuisine can vary enormously from island to island. And each island has its own distinctive topography, history and culture. There are great similarities, but also wonderful differences which help to enhance the experience of a Caribbean vacation for Caribbean people. Of course, there are the events, such as the Trinidad Carnival, the St Lucia Jazz Festival or the Reggae Festivals in Jamaica. These will always be popular with Caribbean people but what is becoming more and more popular is the idea of simply taking a short break on a neighbouring island. Q What is the CTO doing to encourage green, or responsible, tourism? We have a department that is dedicated to this issue. Our objectives are threefold. First, to educate Caribbean people about the effects of human life on the planet. Second, to encourage changes in behaviour that will preserve the planet for the quality of our lives and for future generations. Finally, to inform the rest of the world what the Caribbean is doing to address these issues. Our regular Sustainable Tourism Conference, which next takes place in Barbados in 2010, focuses on how we can strike a balance between driving the economic activity that we need to stay alive and the preservation of our environment. Q Finally, what do you believe is the single greatest regional asset of the Caribbean as a tourist destination? Hospitality. We can be justly proud of the warm welcome we give to visitors. Hospitality in the Caribbean is not just a way of earning a living. It is a way of life. We at the CTO are proud of the fact that, even in a crisis, there is a tremendous amount of attention being given to the service aspect all over the region with the objective of further improving the quality of the visitor experience. |
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