St. Kitts Nevis: The Caribbean Marketplace 30th anniversary, recently held at the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas, included a significant presence of Russian buyers to give credibility to the hopes of Caribbean Government officials that there is light at the end of the tourism tunnel, according to a St. Kitts Nevis Observer report.
Noting a 17 percent increase in the participation of buyers and other delegates, tourism officials and Government leaders agreed that the event was an important step forward in bringing tourist dollars back to the Caribbean and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association which assisted in sponsoring the two-day event.
The Observer stated that while buyers came from many parts of the world, Caribbean officials were delighted with the first-time presence of 11 buyers from the former Soviet Union. The Russian buyers joined in discussions and workshops with buyers in other countries in trying to make a Caribbean travel destination more user-friendly to everyone involved — hotel owners, visitors, government officials, airline employees and related services and industries.
The Observer listed some of the statistics:
- The region's premiere marketing event witnessed a 17 percent increase over 2011 in buyer companies with 142 attending. Buyer delegates increased from 314 last year to 344.
- The Marketplace was strongly supported by the public sector with the presence of the Caribbean Tourism Organization and Ministers of Tourism from St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Josef Forstmayr, president of CHTA, was pleased with the turnout. He said, 'It was good to have the Ministers from the public sector supporting the private sector. We as a region stand united in our efforts to remain the leading warm weather destination in the Western Hemisphere.'
The Observer said that because of the global economic collapse that has caused widespread unemployment in the United States, Great Britain, Japan, Canada and other countries, fewer travelers are spending their money in exotic travel destinations such as the Caribbean. The Caribbean Travel Marketplace is an important business-to-business marketing event for the entire Caribbean hotel and tourism business.
The event draws hotel owners and executives, tourism providers, tour providers from around the world and Government officials together to work out problems affecting tourism, air travel, cruises and other significant parts of the worldwide industry.
Buyer companies flocked to the Atlantis from Argentina, the Bahamas, Canada, Barbados, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, Martinique, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States which topped the list of buyer companies with 74. The UK was second with 22 companies.
'This marks the 30th consecutive year that CHTA has held the event,' said Mr. Forstmayr. 'It remains the Caribbean's most important and largest marketing event and the single most important CHTA benefit for our hotel members. He noted that this year's theme for the travel marketplace is 'Tourism is Key’.
Forstmayr emphasized that there must be a 'strong consensus of our leaders and the public so that travel and tourism will receive the full support it needs as the Caribbean's most vital export industry. It is the fastest way to create jobs, grow the economy and generate income for all. Every citizen needs to understand that, whether they work in the tourism areas or not.'
The Observer stated, the Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, welcomed the delegates by saying, 'We begin 2012 with the hope that this year will mark a distinct point of recovery and return to sustained growth for tourism in our region. We believe early signs of improvement are evident”, and pointed to a “robust uptick in arrivals” in the Bahamas since November.
Forstmayer again emphasized that nobody drives to the Caribbean. He said government officials and the airlines must work together to make air travel as easy and as inexpensive as possible to keep the airlift flowing.
CHTA has estimated that in 2010, Caribbean governments paid $45 million to boost air-lift. Even with that investment, he said, airlift is 'still inadequate and far too expensive for our visitors.'
Regional tourism, sadly, has suffered because of the high cost of traveling between the islands. Forstmayr pointed out that there are 40 million people who live in the Caribbean and who enjoy traveling to other islands and would do so if the costs would fit their budgets.
Calling the prices 'outrageous' for Caribbean Nationals, he said this must be changed. He also challenged Government officials and airlines to make it less cumbersome for people to travel and to make the entire Caribbean experience a more pleasant undertaking. This means making it easier to obtain visas and cutting down on the long lines at Immigration, he said.
“These long lines and bureaucratic inefficiency stifle any sense of hospitality, which is the Caribbean's trademark”, he declared. “We need to establish the very best welcome and farewell to all our visitors. This must be a call to action to all Governments and airport operators to focus their efforts on this issue…Too often we hear that long lines, antiquated bureaucracy and surly attitudes are commonplace to our islands. However, this is not acceptable.”
According to the Observer report a new CSHAE Board of Directors was elected during the two days. Lisa Hamilton, president of the U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Association, was elected President of CSHAE. She succeeds Frank Comito, Executive Vice President of the Bahamas Hotel Association, who held the title since 2009. Gilda Gumbs-Samuel, Executive Director of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, was chosen Vice President. Neil Forrester, General Manager of Antigua Hotels and Tourism Assn., was re-elected Treasurer and Noorani Azeez, St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Assn., was elected Secretary. Other newly elected board members are Frank Comito, Executive Vice President of the Bahamas Hotel Assn.; Pancy Cross, Executive Director of the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Assn.; Clarisa Jimenez, President and CEO of the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Assn.; Louanna Chai-Alves, Executive Director of Trinidad Hotels, Restaurant and Tourism Assn.; Valya Pantophlet, Executive Director of St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Assn.; James Hepple, President and CEO, Aruba Hotel and Tourism Assn.
You must be logged in to post a comment.