Description
In the short-term, travel and tourism is expected to continue to be negatively affected by the downturn in global economies, increasing unemployment, reduced disposable incomes and reduced demand for leisure and business travel. However, UNWTO has made the observation that "past experience has shown that travel and tourism always rebounds from cyclical downturns - sometimes even stronger than before".
CONCEPT PAPER ON A STRATEGIC PLAN ON
TOURISM SERVICES IN THE CARICOM SINGLE
MARKET AND ECONOMY (CSME)
Prepared by
Cecil A. Miller
January 2009
CONCEPT PAPER ON A STRATEGIC PLAN ON TOURISM SERVICES
IN THE CARICOM SINGLE MARKET AND ECONOMY (CSME)
a) Summary Analysis of the Tourism Service Sector in CARICOM
In the short-term, travel and tourism is expected to continue to be negatively affected by
the downturn in global economies, increasing unemployment, reduced disposable
incomes and reduced demand for leisure and business travel. However, UNWTO has
made the observation that “past experience has shown that travel and tourism always
rebounds from cyclical downturns - sometimes even stronger than before”
1
. Indeed, the
6.5% average annual growth rate in international arrivals over the period 1950 to 2005 is
evidence of the sector’s resilience and robustness over the long-term.
For most of the Caribbean, tourism has become the most important productive sector in
terms of contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and foreign
exchange earnings. Through linkages, it has created added value in other economic
sectors e.g. agriculture, manufacturing and handicraft. Tourism also has served as a
catalyst for development in several other areas of the economy, including ancillary
services and infrastructure - especially air and seaports and roads. In addition, tourism
often has provided communities with economic rationale for the conservation and
preservation of local heritage and culture and improvement of product and service
standards, especially in the food services industry.
Tourism uses resources which the Region has both in abundance and a comparative
advantage in production. The varied natural and man-made attractions, flora and fauna of
each country allows the Region to market a diversified product range that appeals to ever
increasing number of niche markets. These attributes together with the proximity of the
islands has resulted in the Caribbean remaining a desired vacation and preferred cruise
destination, even with the entry of newly competitive regions and destinations in the
tourism market.
1
UN World Tourism Organisation
2
Tourism is therefore the sector in which the Caribbean is not only truly globally
competitive but which, with foresight and planning, the Region can provide industry
leadership in terms of excellence and best practice.
However, the positive outlook for tourism in the Region must be tempered by certain
concerns that must be successfully addressed to avoid them becoming constraints to the
growth and further development of the sector. Among the main concerns are the
following:
(a) over time, the English-speaking sub-Region of the Caribbean has been losing
market share in both long stay and cruise passenger arrivals;
(b) the goal of dependable, affordable and adequate international and intra-
Regional air services remains elusive, when airlift is the most critical pre-
requisite for the continued expansion of a financially viable and sustainable
tourism industry;
(c) if the Region is to offer value for money and remain competitive in the global
tourism market, a perspective and balance must be maintained between the
quality elements of the Caribbean tourism product (especially accommodation
plant) and cost of the overall holiday experience;
(d) no single Caribbean destination has been able to develop the benefits and
contribution from cruise tourism to a level considered satisfactory and
reflective of the importance of the segment in terms of passenger numbers;
(e) crime and violence, especially associated with the illegal drugs trade, has the
potential to severely affect both the image of the Region and demand for
travel to the Caribbean. The continuing high annual murder rate in J amaica
and Trinidad and Tobago is a particular cause for concern, especially in
3
circumstances where certain elements of the consumer market view the
Region as a single entity;
(f) current global economic problems have reinforced the need to improve the
Region’s tourism research and intelligence capability;
(g) current global economic problems also have highlighted the dangers of over
dependency on a single major market and, conversely, the need to diversify
the Region’s visitor source markets;
(h) in the absence of adequate systems for mobilizing investment resources, most
large tourism projects continue to depend on extra-regional funding to support
implementation;
(i) sustainability should be a key objective of any planned actions in the tourism
industry. This includes ensuring the economic, environmental and social
benefits of output and activity in the sector can redound to the benefit of the
sector over the long-term,;
b) Recent Sector Studies and Issues
Most tourism planners and decision makers will agree that, over the past decade, the
quantum of research output has been inadequate given the dynamism and increasing
complexity of issues confronting the sector. In addition, the practice of hoarding
information and industry participants’ unwillingness to contribute to surveys and
participate in other information gathering exercises has become almost endemic in the
industry. As a result, there is little sharing of country specific information and reports
through a core coordinating entity such as the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).
To exacerbate the situation, CTO, in recent years, appears to have given increased
priority to marketing and advocacy while placing less emphasis on research. At the same
4
time, it has given insufficient emphasis to publicising recent material which has become
available to the organization.
Several useful reports and other outputs from projects have become available over the
last three years and these are listed at Appendix 1. These reports cover a range of issues
including the following:
- Natural Hazard Risk Management
- Good Practices in Community Based Tourism
- Developing Niche Tourism Markets
- Good Practices for Sustainable Tourism Development
- Good Practices in Tourism Awareness
- Hotel Taxation and Operating Costs
- Operations of national hotel associations
- Tourism Satellite Accounting
- Tourism Linkages
- Air Transportation
- Caribbean Handicraft
- Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Policy
There is an urgent need to improve the quantity and quality of research data available to
the various tourism stakeholders of the Region. An improved research capability will
support decision-making and activities in a number of critical areas, including the
following:
(a) Analysis and assessment;
(b) Policy making and other government interventions;
(c) Monitoring and management;
(d) Marketing;
(e) Financing;
(f) Recording and sharing lessons learned; and
(g) Improving efficiency;
5
The Caribbean generally can offer the rest of the world some examples of good tourism
practices. However, in the area of tourism research, the Region would be well advised to
consider the Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) of the Pacific Asia Travel Association
(PATA)
2
as an institutional model to be emulated for the improvement of its research
capacity and output. The SIC, one of core areas of PATA, produces a continuous stream
of research materials in a range of areas, topics and media, including the following:
- Proceedings of Annual Conferences;
- Aviation & Tourism;
- Bibliographies and History;
- Business and Economics;
- Directories and Lists;
- Environment & Heritage;
- Human Resources;
- Market Intelligence/Research;
- Occasional Papers;
- Statistical Report;
- Reports of Task Forces;
- Technology;
- Videos
c) Impact of Tourism Legislation on Development Within the Sector
Legislation to Support Physical Development: Investment incentives legislation is the
principal tool used by Governments of the Region to encourage tourism development and
especially hotel development. Core elements of the legislation usually consists of a
period of exemption (usually 10 or more years) from the payment of Corporation Taxes
and the ability to purchase free of duty inputs used for the construction, furnishing and
equipping of the hotel. Variations of investment incentive legislation include the
2
www.pata.org
6
extension of benefits to non-hotel businesses in the tourism sector (Barbados) and the
inclusion of other benefits as part of the incentive package e.g. duty concessions on
vehicles (Trinidad and Tobago).
Some Governments have enacted legislation (Special Development Areas legislation) to
encourage tourism development in specific geographic areas (Barbados) or in specific
areas of tourism activity.
Also, recognition of the value of natural assets, especially flora and fauna, as part of the
tourism product offer has prompted the enactment of Protected Areas legislation in some
countries (Dominica). Similarly some countries recognizing the value of heritage
structures have enacted legislation for the protection of such structures. Such legislation
generally seeks to encourage renovation, restoration, redevelopment and use of these
heritage structures as revenue generating tourism assets.
The business model for the financing of new types of accommodation product – villas,
condominiums, timesharing and mix-use developments rely less on incentives as a
determining factor for project success because the equity component of the financing
package usually is higher, the repayment period for investment shorter and the period of
exposure of investment risk considerably reduced.
For most countries, the critical issue relating to tourism investment incentives is not the
range of incentives granted but arrangements which facilitate access to incentives.
Several countries have sought to reduce steps in the process for accessing incentives by
establishing a “one stop shop” model. However, in practice, administrative requirements,
the number of institutions involved in the process and consequent tardiness in obtaining
decisions on requests can often be frustrating and even discouraging to potential
investors.
Legislation to Support Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Creativity in the handicraft
sector needs to be encouraged in order to reduce imports of “country branded” souvenirs
7
and to encourage innovation, production and sale of authentic indigenous handicraft.
This will require a broader focus on fostering entrepreneurship including the enactment
and enforcement of legislation to protect intellectual property.
Development, Implementation and Enforcement of Standards: The Caribbean
Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) is developing a
comprehensive set of Standards, Codes of Practice and Guidelines for various segments
of the tourism industry including, accommodation, tour operators, tour guides, car hire,
scuba diving to list a few. CROSQ is partnered in this initiative by the national standards
institutions, (which themselves are members of CROSQ) and selected Regional tourism
entities. Therefore, it is expected that eventually, the national standards institutions will
be involved in establishing Standards, Codes of Practice and Guidelines for product
quality monitoring in various segments of Barbados’ tourism industry. However,
monitoring will have to be conducted by a dedicated tourism agency at the destination
level;
CARICOM Response to Potentially Negative External Legislation: There is an urgent
need for the Region, through CTO, to lobby for the removal of the British Air Passenger
Duty. This tax, imposed on persons travelling from the UK and based on the length of
the journey and class of travel, penalizes long-haul travel to places like the Caribbean. It
is a potential constraint to travel, especially in light of plans for its increase over the next
few years
d) Trade Liberalization and Potential for Maximization of Opportunities
for the Tourism Sector
Globalisation and especially the conclusion of the European Partnership Agreement
(EPA) raises several issues for the Region, including the following:
(a) possibility of more European companies entering the Caribbean as business
partners and competitors;
8
(b) possibility of attracting European investment and management into the tourism
sector; and
(c) potentially greater access for Caribbean tourism businesses and professionals into
the European market;
e) Pre-Requisites for Sector Growth and Development
Plans to support growth and development of the Region’s tourism industry must include
the following actions:
(a) governments provision of a supportive policy framework to help stimulate
demand and ensure that travel and tourism continues to generate employment,
foreign exchange and add value to other areas of economic enterprise;
(b) improve tourism intelligence and research;
(c) develop tourism training as an area of excellence for the Region;
(d) institutionalise training and certification at all levels of the industry. In this
regard, the adoption and use of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ’s),
as mandated by CARICOM, should be part of this strategy;
(e) provide incentives to attract the brightest brains into the industry e.g.
scholarships for tertiary level training;
(f) encourage and facilitate the development of multi-lingual skills in order to
better position the Caribbean to deal with global markets;
(g) lobby funding agencies to use of Regional professional expertise directly or in
partnership with extra-regional consultants in the implementation of projects
and conduct of studies;
(h) encourage and facilitate creativity and entrepreneurship in the supply of
products and services to the tourist industry;
(i) provide incentives for the production of authentic handicraft products;
9
(j) enact and enforce legislation to protect the intellectual property of innovators
of products developed for sale to the industry;
(k) establish within the framework of CSME arrangements to facilitate the
movement of labour with the Regional tourism industry;
(l) address the continued high requests for work permits by:
(i) linking the grant of permits to under-study arrangements (with periodic
reporting on these);
(ii) identification and mentoring of talent;
(iii) implementation of structured apprenticeship programmes;
(iv) improving hospitality training, especially culinary skills,
(m) revamp and use CHTA’s annual “Taste of the Caribbean” competition to
focus on skill development at the national level and to improve the level of
expertise through competition; and
encourage the adoption and use of Information Technology and e-commerce
as part of the business platform for improving product marketing and sales
within the industry;
f) Common Regional Policy Framework for Tourism
In 2008, CTO completed a common policy framework for tourism in the Region. The
“Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework” was prepared through a process of
wider consultations with various stakeholders across the Region. It is important that
CTO take action to publicise and disseminate the Policy Framework, which can be found
on CTO’s website at:
http://www.onecaribbean.org/programs/sustainabledevelopment/std.aspx
g) Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies for Developing the Sector
Tourism planners and decision makers have the ability and responsibility to address
endogenous challenges to the Caribbean tourism industry. However, industry dynamics
10
and resource constraints require a programme of redress that is constantly a work-in-
progress. Among the most urgent challenges are the following:
(a) the need for a coherent Regional market and planning focus, including the
image we want to portray of the Caribbean, a re-definition of our (Caribbean)
product, its components and how we can protect and improve them;
(b) environmental – concerns about the impact on the environment of tourism
development projects;
(c) safety and security - rising crime and violence resulting in the issuance of
travel advisories;
(d) health and safety e.g. HIV/AIDS, illegal trafficking of persons;
(e) adequacy and security of airlift capacity;
(f) human resource development and training issues;
(g) the need to continuously innovate in order to improve product and grow the
industry;
(h) the need to strengthen linkages between tourism and the rest of the economy;
(i) greater emphasis on destination management, especially monitoring and
management of product quality and service standards.
Suggested Responses to Local/Regional Challenges
Some strategies for addressing challenges and improving the sector include the
following:
(a) preparation of implementable Tourism Master Plans to guide the development
of the sector;
(b) integrated planning, including zoning, adoption of standards and inclusiveness
of community consultation as part of the planning process;
(c) more targeted research, proactive product development, planning and
monitoring of physical developments in the industry;
11
(d) public awareness and education, training of security personnel and
dissemination of training procedures and manuals developed for the tourism
and hospitality sector;
(e) establish a regime to facilitate increased hospitality and tourism training,
dissemination and adoption of HR best practices and to attract the best and
brightest into the tourism and hospitality industry;
(f) undertake airline capacity studies to ensure plans for aviation are in
consonance with and support plans for expansion in the accommodation sub-
sector;
(g) increase focus on new technology, knowledge management and corporate
social responsibility as components of tourism and hospitality business
practice;
(h) encourage the development of value-added products and initiatives e.g.
promote the authentic Caribbean experience in all its elements – music, food,
handicraft, furnishings to list a few; and
(i) monitor and manage all elements of destination development, including
product quality, service standards, product-market fit and efficiency in the use
of resources.
Exogenous Challenges
Caribbean governments through advocacy and lobbying also can seek to persuade other
governments to change legislation, policies or action, the implementation of which is
inimical to the interest of the Region’s tourism industry e.g. British Air Passenger Duty.
Through intervention initiatives, Governments also can seek to influence decision making
by the private sector for purposes of ensuring that boardroom decisions (e.g. airline and
cruise ship operators) are consistent with and supportive of tourism goals, objectives and
plans of the Region.
12
The real challenges to the tourism sector relate to the several exogenous factors which
have the potential to impact the performance of the sector, over which the Region’s
planners and decision makers have little or no control, but which require appropriate and
often timely response in order to mitigate potential negative impact on the sector. These
factors include one of the following:
(a) environmental – climate change and sea level rise, bio-diversity loss,
pollution of coastal zones, to list a few;
(b) health – SARS, bird flu and occasional outbreaks of health threats;
(c) economic – currency exchange movements, changes in macro-economic
indicators of tourist generating countries;
(d) corporate – failure of major partners/suppliers in the business chain – e.g.
airlines, tour operators;
h) Opportunities and Strategies for Development
Strategic elements of a development plan for the Region should seek to realize the
following objectives:
Product
(a) promote the adoption of industry product and service standards.
(b) take action at the national level to support work being done by CROSQ in the
development of industry standards;
(c) further diversify niche products, services and tourism segments – eco,
adventure, sports, food, health; spiritual, meetings, incentives, convention,
events, to list a few;
(d) promote the Caribbean look and feel in architecture and other products;
13
Marketing
(e) give further definition to the Caribbean brand;
(f) pursue strategies to market the Caribbean as a single destination;
(g) diversify into non-traditional markets – India, China, South America;
Research and Development
(h) refocus on research with a view to offering Regional Governments analyses of
issues and policy options for possible action;
(i) encourage and assist countries in the implementation and use of Tourism
Satellite Accounting as a tool to improve the measurement of tourism’s
contribution to national economic output;
(j) CTO to give greater focus to market research and intelligence, sector and
market analysis, trend assessments and advice regarding policy options in
regard to emerging opportunities, threats, market developments, industry
practices and models of best practice;
(k) collaborate with UWI in carrying out industry research, recording industry
best practices and serving as a repository for study reports and other industry
publications;
Aviation
(l) increase dialogue and collaborate with air transport partners for the purpose of
securing efficient and adequate air access into the Region;
(m) develop a regional air transport development strategy giving attention to
airline capacity and appropriate route structures;
14
Financing
review and strengthen regulatory framework to support and encourage foreign
direct investment in the industry;
(o) use pension and NIS funds in the financing of the industry.
(p) create vehicles and instruments for greater local participation in tourism
investment;
Information Technology
(q) promote the use of IT in marketing the Caribbean tourism product;
(r) encourage the adoption and use of e-commerce as a vehicle for facilitating
business transactions in tourism;
HR and Management
(s) develop centres of excellence in hospitality training to improve service
standards, opportunities for career advancement and for the promotion of
tourism and hospitality training as an export service;
(t) exploit opportunities for further development and promotion of Caribbean
tourism brands and tourism marketing and management services;
(u) facilitate regional planning and sharing of lessons, experiences and ideas by
convening a suitable biennium forum for technical industry personnel.
Entrepreneurship
(v) encourage enterprise and innovation – handicraft, culture
15
APPENDIX 1
CTO PUBLICATIONS
Tourism Executive Brief (Occasional publication)
Tourism Statistical Reports (NOTE: the content and timeliness of these reports has
declined since 2004)
GOOD PRACTICES: MANUALS & REPORTS
Good Practices: Natural Hazard Risk Management in the Caribbean Tourism
Sector
This report is an output of the 8th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean
Regional Sustainable Tourism Development Programme (CRSTDP), which is a five-year
(2003-2008) programme funded by the European Union.
Competing with the Best: Good Practices in Community Based Tourism in the
Caribbean
This manual, an output of the CRSTDP has chapters on the following:
- Introduction, Objectives & Methodology; Defining community based tourism;
- Developments in Community based tourism; critical factors; lessons learnt;
overview of critical factors;
- Case studies for Dominica, Dominican Republic, J amaica, St. Lucia and Trinidad
and Tobago
Making Tourism Count for the Local Economy in the Caribbean, Pro-Poor Tourism
Partnership & CTO
This report has chapters on the following:
- Tourism and the local economy-building linkages; Bringing local producers into
the supply chain; Building links with local farmers; Employing local staff
16
- Involving local people in products, tours & packages; Encouraging tourists to
spend in the local economy; Building neighbourhood partnerships;
- Managing internal change for developing local linkages; Appendix
Developing a Niche Tourism Market Database for the Caribbean
This report presents detailed profiles of 20 niche tourism markets.
Guide to Good Practices for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Caribbean
This is "a regional database of sustainable tourism best practices among public and
private sector actors in the region. This database includes but is not limited to national,
regional and international projects, reports, dossiers and studies available on tourism and
the environment in the Caribbean."
Good Practices in Tourism Awareness Programmes - Raising the Tourism Sector’s
Profile and Status in Caribbean Countries
This document provides information on successful national tourism awareness
programmes being implemented in CTO member countries.
CTO PRESENTATIONS ON GOOD PRACTICES AVAILABLE FOR
DOWNLOAD ON THE INTERNET
- Historic Core Cottages in St. Eustatius Presentation
- Community Tourism In Dominica Presentation
- Mitigating the Impact of Natural Disasters - Grenada
- Best Practices in Tourism Management - Presentation by McHale Andrew,
CTO/CRSTDP Advisor at the CTO/CRSTDP Statistics and Information Management
Workshop, October 2005.
17
OUTPUTS OF THE CARIBBEAN REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (CRSTDP)
Taxation and Operating Costs for the Caribbean Hotel Sector
Soft Adventure Demand in the Caribbean, 2006
Good-Best Practices in Tourism Linkages – CD-Rom
Caribbean Air Transportation Study 2007
Operational Manual for Directors and Presidents of National Hotel Associations
Management and Operational Tools for Hotel Association Executives
Catalogue of Authentic Caribbean Craft – CD-Rom
Survey of Residents’ Attitudes towards Tourism: Barbados, St. Lucia and Trinidad
& Tobago, 2007
Final Draft Report of Study on Readiness Assessment & Implementation Plan for
Tourism Satellite Accounts in the Caribbean
Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework - April 2008 (CTO)
18
OTHER RECENT INDUSTRY REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS
The Caribbean - The Impact of Travel & Tourism on Jobs and the Economy (2004)
World Travel and Tourism Council
The Caribbean Accommodation Sector as a Consumer of Locally Produced Goods
and Services and Contributor to Government Revenues (Report of a ProInvest-funded
study)
The views of the Caribbean Hotel Association on the CRNM report on "Tourism
Services Negotiations-Implications for CARIFORUM”
CHA-CTO Position paper on global climate change and the Caribbean tourism
industry
Multi-Hazard Contingency Planning Manual for the Caribbean Tourism Sector
Hotel Classification Systems - A Summary of articles and information
19
doc_793995156.pdf
In the short-term, travel and tourism is expected to continue to be negatively affected by the downturn in global economies, increasing unemployment, reduced disposable incomes and reduced demand for leisure and business travel. However, UNWTO has made the observation that "past experience has shown that travel and tourism always rebounds from cyclical downturns - sometimes even stronger than before".
CONCEPT PAPER ON A STRATEGIC PLAN ON
TOURISM SERVICES IN THE CARICOM SINGLE
MARKET AND ECONOMY (CSME)
Prepared by
Cecil A. Miller
January 2009
CONCEPT PAPER ON A STRATEGIC PLAN ON TOURISM SERVICES
IN THE CARICOM SINGLE MARKET AND ECONOMY (CSME)
a) Summary Analysis of the Tourism Service Sector in CARICOM
In the short-term, travel and tourism is expected to continue to be negatively affected by
the downturn in global economies, increasing unemployment, reduced disposable
incomes and reduced demand for leisure and business travel. However, UNWTO has
made the observation that “past experience has shown that travel and tourism always
rebounds from cyclical downturns - sometimes even stronger than before”
1
. Indeed, the
6.5% average annual growth rate in international arrivals over the period 1950 to 2005 is
evidence of the sector’s resilience and robustness over the long-term.
For most of the Caribbean, tourism has become the most important productive sector in
terms of contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and foreign
exchange earnings. Through linkages, it has created added value in other economic
sectors e.g. agriculture, manufacturing and handicraft. Tourism also has served as a
catalyst for development in several other areas of the economy, including ancillary
services and infrastructure - especially air and seaports and roads. In addition, tourism
often has provided communities with economic rationale for the conservation and
preservation of local heritage and culture and improvement of product and service
standards, especially in the food services industry.
Tourism uses resources which the Region has both in abundance and a comparative
advantage in production. The varied natural and man-made attractions, flora and fauna of
each country allows the Region to market a diversified product range that appeals to ever
increasing number of niche markets. These attributes together with the proximity of the
islands has resulted in the Caribbean remaining a desired vacation and preferred cruise
destination, even with the entry of newly competitive regions and destinations in the
tourism market.
1
UN World Tourism Organisation
2
Tourism is therefore the sector in which the Caribbean is not only truly globally
competitive but which, with foresight and planning, the Region can provide industry
leadership in terms of excellence and best practice.
However, the positive outlook for tourism in the Region must be tempered by certain
concerns that must be successfully addressed to avoid them becoming constraints to the
growth and further development of the sector. Among the main concerns are the
following:
(a) over time, the English-speaking sub-Region of the Caribbean has been losing
market share in both long stay and cruise passenger arrivals;
(b) the goal of dependable, affordable and adequate international and intra-
Regional air services remains elusive, when airlift is the most critical pre-
requisite for the continued expansion of a financially viable and sustainable
tourism industry;
(c) if the Region is to offer value for money and remain competitive in the global
tourism market, a perspective and balance must be maintained between the
quality elements of the Caribbean tourism product (especially accommodation
plant) and cost of the overall holiday experience;
(d) no single Caribbean destination has been able to develop the benefits and
contribution from cruise tourism to a level considered satisfactory and
reflective of the importance of the segment in terms of passenger numbers;
(e) crime and violence, especially associated with the illegal drugs trade, has the
potential to severely affect both the image of the Region and demand for
travel to the Caribbean. The continuing high annual murder rate in J amaica
and Trinidad and Tobago is a particular cause for concern, especially in
3
circumstances where certain elements of the consumer market view the
Region as a single entity;
(f) current global economic problems have reinforced the need to improve the
Region’s tourism research and intelligence capability;
(g) current global economic problems also have highlighted the dangers of over
dependency on a single major market and, conversely, the need to diversify
the Region’s visitor source markets;
(h) in the absence of adequate systems for mobilizing investment resources, most
large tourism projects continue to depend on extra-regional funding to support
implementation;
(i) sustainability should be a key objective of any planned actions in the tourism
industry. This includes ensuring the economic, environmental and social
benefits of output and activity in the sector can redound to the benefit of the
sector over the long-term,;
b) Recent Sector Studies and Issues
Most tourism planners and decision makers will agree that, over the past decade, the
quantum of research output has been inadequate given the dynamism and increasing
complexity of issues confronting the sector. In addition, the practice of hoarding
information and industry participants’ unwillingness to contribute to surveys and
participate in other information gathering exercises has become almost endemic in the
industry. As a result, there is little sharing of country specific information and reports
through a core coordinating entity such as the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).
To exacerbate the situation, CTO, in recent years, appears to have given increased
priority to marketing and advocacy while placing less emphasis on research. At the same
4
time, it has given insufficient emphasis to publicising recent material which has become
available to the organization.
Several useful reports and other outputs from projects have become available over the
last three years and these are listed at Appendix 1. These reports cover a range of issues
including the following:
- Natural Hazard Risk Management
- Good Practices in Community Based Tourism
- Developing Niche Tourism Markets
- Good Practices for Sustainable Tourism Development
- Good Practices in Tourism Awareness
- Hotel Taxation and Operating Costs
- Operations of national hotel associations
- Tourism Satellite Accounting
- Tourism Linkages
- Air Transportation
- Caribbean Handicraft
- Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Policy
There is an urgent need to improve the quantity and quality of research data available to
the various tourism stakeholders of the Region. An improved research capability will
support decision-making and activities in a number of critical areas, including the
following:
(a) Analysis and assessment;
(b) Policy making and other government interventions;
(c) Monitoring and management;
(d) Marketing;
(e) Financing;
(f) Recording and sharing lessons learned; and
(g) Improving efficiency;
5
The Caribbean generally can offer the rest of the world some examples of good tourism
practices. However, in the area of tourism research, the Region would be well advised to
consider the Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) of the Pacific Asia Travel Association
(PATA)
2
as an institutional model to be emulated for the improvement of its research
capacity and output. The SIC, one of core areas of PATA, produces a continuous stream
of research materials in a range of areas, topics and media, including the following:
- Proceedings of Annual Conferences;
- Aviation & Tourism;
- Bibliographies and History;
- Business and Economics;
- Directories and Lists;
- Environment & Heritage;
- Human Resources;
- Market Intelligence/Research;
- Occasional Papers;
- Statistical Report;
- Reports of Task Forces;
- Technology;
- Videos
c) Impact of Tourism Legislation on Development Within the Sector
Legislation to Support Physical Development: Investment incentives legislation is the
principal tool used by Governments of the Region to encourage tourism development and
especially hotel development. Core elements of the legislation usually consists of a
period of exemption (usually 10 or more years) from the payment of Corporation Taxes
and the ability to purchase free of duty inputs used for the construction, furnishing and
equipping of the hotel. Variations of investment incentive legislation include the
2
www.pata.org
6
extension of benefits to non-hotel businesses in the tourism sector (Barbados) and the
inclusion of other benefits as part of the incentive package e.g. duty concessions on
vehicles (Trinidad and Tobago).
Some Governments have enacted legislation (Special Development Areas legislation) to
encourage tourism development in specific geographic areas (Barbados) or in specific
areas of tourism activity.
Also, recognition of the value of natural assets, especially flora and fauna, as part of the
tourism product offer has prompted the enactment of Protected Areas legislation in some
countries (Dominica). Similarly some countries recognizing the value of heritage
structures have enacted legislation for the protection of such structures. Such legislation
generally seeks to encourage renovation, restoration, redevelopment and use of these
heritage structures as revenue generating tourism assets.
The business model for the financing of new types of accommodation product – villas,
condominiums, timesharing and mix-use developments rely less on incentives as a
determining factor for project success because the equity component of the financing
package usually is higher, the repayment period for investment shorter and the period of
exposure of investment risk considerably reduced.
For most countries, the critical issue relating to tourism investment incentives is not the
range of incentives granted but arrangements which facilitate access to incentives.
Several countries have sought to reduce steps in the process for accessing incentives by
establishing a “one stop shop” model. However, in practice, administrative requirements,
the number of institutions involved in the process and consequent tardiness in obtaining
decisions on requests can often be frustrating and even discouraging to potential
investors.
Legislation to Support Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Creativity in the handicraft
sector needs to be encouraged in order to reduce imports of “country branded” souvenirs
7
and to encourage innovation, production and sale of authentic indigenous handicraft.
This will require a broader focus on fostering entrepreneurship including the enactment
and enforcement of legislation to protect intellectual property.
Development, Implementation and Enforcement of Standards: The Caribbean
Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) is developing a
comprehensive set of Standards, Codes of Practice and Guidelines for various segments
of the tourism industry including, accommodation, tour operators, tour guides, car hire,
scuba diving to list a few. CROSQ is partnered in this initiative by the national standards
institutions, (which themselves are members of CROSQ) and selected Regional tourism
entities. Therefore, it is expected that eventually, the national standards institutions will
be involved in establishing Standards, Codes of Practice and Guidelines for product
quality monitoring in various segments of Barbados’ tourism industry. However,
monitoring will have to be conducted by a dedicated tourism agency at the destination
level;
CARICOM Response to Potentially Negative External Legislation: There is an urgent
need for the Region, through CTO, to lobby for the removal of the British Air Passenger
Duty. This tax, imposed on persons travelling from the UK and based on the length of
the journey and class of travel, penalizes long-haul travel to places like the Caribbean. It
is a potential constraint to travel, especially in light of plans for its increase over the next
few years
d) Trade Liberalization and Potential for Maximization of Opportunities
for the Tourism Sector
Globalisation and especially the conclusion of the European Partnership Agreement
(EPA) raises several issues for the Region, including the following:
(a) possibility of more European companies entering the Caribbean as business
partners and competitors;
8
(b) possibility of attracting European investment and management into the tourism
sector; and
(c) potentially greater access for Caribbean tourism businesses and professionals into
the European market;
e) Pre-Requisites for Sector Growth and Development
Plans to support growth and development of the Region’s tourism industry must include
the following actions:
(a) governments provision of a supportive policy framework to help stimulate
demand and ensure that travel and tourism continues to generate employment,
foreign exchange and add value to other areas of economic enterprise;
(b) improve tourism intelligence and research;
(c) develop tourism training as an area of excellence for the Region;
(d) institutionalise training and certification at all levels of the industry. In this
regard, the adoption and use of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ’s),
as mandated by CARICOM, should be part of this strategy;
(e) provide incentives to attract the brightest brains into the industry e.g.
scholarships for tertiary level training;
(f) encourage and facilitate the development of multi-lingual skills in order to
better position the Caribbean to deal with global markets;
(g) lobby funding agencies to use of Regional professional expertise directly or in
partnership with extra-regional consultants in the implementation of projects
and conduct of studies;
(h) encourage and facilitate creativity and entrepreneurship in the supply of
products and services to the tourist industry;
(i) provide incentives for the production of authentic handicraft products;
9
(j) enact and enforce legislation to protect the intellectual property of innovators
of products developed for sale to the industry;
(k) establish within the framework of CSME arrangements to facilitate the
movement of labour with the Regional tourism industry;
(l) address the continued high requests for work permits by:
(i) linking the grant of permits to under-study arrangements (with periodic
reporting on these);
(ii) identification and mentoring of talent;
(iii) implementation of structured apprenticeship programmes;
(iv) improving hospitality training, especially culinary skills,
(m) revamp and use CHTA’s annual “Taste of the Caribbean” competition to
focus on skill development at the national level and to improve the level of
expertise through competition; and
encourage the adoption and use of Information Technology and e-commerce as part of the business platform for improving product marketing and sales
within the industry;
f) Common Regional Policy Framework for Tourism
In 2008, CTO completed a common policy framework for tourism in the Region. The
“Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework” was prepared through a process of
wider consultations with various stakeholders across the Region. It is important that
CTO take action to publicise and disseminate the Policy Framework, which can be found
on CTO’s website at:
http://www.onecaribbean.org/programs/sustainabledevelopment/std.aspx
g) Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies for Developing the Sector
Tourism planners and decision makers have the ability and responsibility to address
endogenous challenges to the Caribbean tourism industry. However, industry dynamics
10
and resource constraints require a programme of redress that is constantly a work-in-
progress. Among the most urgent challenges are the following:
(a) the need for a coherent Regional market and planning focus, including the
image we want to portray of the Caribbean, a re-definition of our (Caribbean)
product, its components and how we can protect and improve them;
(b) environmental – concerns about the impact on the environment of tourism
development projects;
(c) safety and security - rising crime and violence resulting in the issuance of
travel advisories;
(d) health and safety e.g. HIV/AIDS, illegal trafficking of persons;
(e) adequacy and security of airlift capacity;
(f) human resource development and training issues;
(g) the need to continuously innovate in order to improve product and grow the
industry;
(h) the need to strengthen linkages between tourism and the rest of the economy;
(i) greater emphasis on destination management, especially monitoring and
management of product quality and service standards.
Suggested Responses to Local/Regional Challenges
Some strategies for addressing challenges and improving the sector include the
following:
(a) preparation of implementable Tourism Master Plans to guide the development
of the sector;
(b) integrated planning, including zoning, adoption of standards and inclusiveness
of community consultation as part of the planning process;
(c) more targeted research, proactive product development, planning and
monitoring of physical developments in the industry;
11
(d) public awareness and education, training of security personnel and
dissemination of training procedures and manuals developed for the tourism
and hospitality sector;
(e) establish a regime to facilitate increased hospitality and tourism training,
dissemination and adoption of HR best practices and to attract the best and
brightest into the tourism and hospitality industry;
(f) undertake airline capacity studies to ensure plans for aviation are in
consonance with and support plans for expansion in the accommodation sub-
sector;
(g) increase focus on new technology, knowledge management and corporate
social responsibility as components of tourism and hospitality business
practice;
(h) encourage the development of value-added products and initiatives e.g.
promote the authentic Caribbean experience in all its elements – music, food,
handicraft, furnishings to list a few; and
(i) monitor and manage all elements of destination development, including
product quality, service standards, product-market fit and efficiency in the use
of resources.
Exogenous Challenges
Caribbean governments through advocacy and lobbying also can seek to persuade other
governments to change legislation, policies or action, the implementation of which is
inimical to the interest of the Region’s tourism industry e.g. British Air Passenger Duty.
Through intervention initiatives, Governments also can seek to influence decision making
by the private sector for purposes of ensuring that boardroom decisions (e.g. airline and
cruise ship operators) are consistent with and supportive of tourism goals, objectives and
plans of the Region.
12
The real challenges to the tourism sector relate to the several exogenous factors which
have the potential to impact the performance of the sector, over which the Region’s
planners and decision makers have little or no control, but which require appropriate and
often timely response in order to mitigate potential negative impact on the sector. These
factors include one of the following:
(a) environmental – climate change and sea level rise, bio-diversity loss,
pollution of coastal zones, to list a few;
(b) health – SARS, bird flu and occasional outbreaks of health threats;
(c) economic – currency exchange movements, changes in macro-economic
indicators of tourist generating countries;
(d) corporate – failure of major partners/suppliers in the business chain – e.g.
airlines, tour operators;
h) Opportunities and Strategies for Development
Strategic elements of a development plan for the Region should seek to realize the
following objectives:
Product
(a) promote the adoption of industry product and service standards.
(b) take action at the national level to support work being done by CROSQ in the
development of industry standards;
(c) further diversify niche products, services and tourism segments – eco,
adventure, sports, food, health; spiritual, meetings, incentives, convention,
events, to list a few;
(d) promote the Caribbean look and feel in architecture and other products;
13
Marketing
(e) give further definition to the Caribbean brand;
(f) pursue strategies to market the Caribbean as a single destination;
(g) diversify into non-traditional markets – India, China, South America;
Research and Development
(h) refocus on research with a view to offering Regional Governments analyses of
issues and policy options for possible action;
(i) encourage and assist countries in the implementation and use of Tourism
Satellite Accounting as a tool to improve the measurement of tourism’s
contribution to national economic output;
(j) CTO to give greater focus to market research and intelligence, sector and
market analysis, trend assessments and advice regarding policy options in
regard to emerging opportunities, threats, market developments, industry
practices and models of best practice;
(k) collaborate with UWI in carrying out industry research, recording industry
best practices and serving as a repository for study reports and other industry
publications;
Aviation
(l) increase dialogue and collaborate with air transport partners for the purpose of
securing efficient and adequate air access into the Region;
(m) develop a regional air transport development strategy giving attention to
airline capacity and appropriate route structures;
14
Financing
review and strengthen regulatory framework to support and encourage foreign direct investment in the industry;
(o) use pension and NIS funds in the financing of the industry.
(p) create vehicles and instruments for greater local participation in tourism
investment;
Information Technology
(q) promote the use of IT in marketing the Caribbean tourism product;
(r) encourage the adoption and use of e-commerce as a vehicle for facilitating
business transactions in tourism;
HR and Management
(s) develop centres of excellence in hospitality training to improve service
standards, opportunities for career advancement and for the promotion of
tourism and hospitality training as an export service;
(t) exploit opportunities for further development and promotion of Caribbean
tourism brands and tourism marketing and management services;
(u) facilitate regional planning and sharing of lessons, experiences and ideas by
convening a suitable biennium forum for technical industry personnel.
Entrepreneurship
(v) encourage enterprise and innovation – handicraft, culture
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APPENDIX 1
CTO PUBLICATIONS
Tourism Executive Brief (Occasional publication)
Tourism Statistical Reports (NOTE: the content and timeliness of these reports has
declined since 2004)
GOOD PRACTICES: MANUALS & REPORTS
Good Practices: Natural Hazard Risk Management in the Caribbean Tourism
Sector
This report is an output of the 8th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean
Regional Sustainable Tourism Development Programme (CRSTDP), which is a five-year
(2003-2008) programme funded by the European Union.
Competing with the Best: Good Practices in Community Based Tourism in the
Caribbean
This manual, an output of the CRSTDP has chapters on the following:
- Introduction, Objectives & Methodology; Defining community based tourism;
- Developments in Community based tourism; critical factors; lessons learnt;
overview of critical factors;
- Case studies for Dominica, Dominican Republic, J amaica, St. Lucia and Trinidad
and Tobago
Making Tourism Count for the Local Economy in the Caribbean, Pro-Poor Tourism
Partnership & CTO
This report has chapters on the following:
- Tourism and the local economy-building linkages; Bringing local producers into
the supply chain; Building links with local farmers; Employing local staff
16
- Involving local people in products, tours & packages; Encouraging tourists to
spend in the local economy; Building neighbourhood partnerships;
- Managing internal change for developing local linkages; Appendix
Developing a Niche Tourism Market Database for the Caribbean
This report presents detailed profiles of 20 niche tourism markets.
Guide to Good Practices for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Caribbean
This is "a regional database of sustainable tourism best practices among public and
private sector actors in the region. This database includes but is not limited to national,
regional and international projects, reports, dossiers and studies available on tourism and
the environment in the Caribbean."
Good Practices in Tourism Awareness Programmes - Raising the Tourism Sector’s
Profile and Status in Caribbean Countries
This document provides information on successful national tourism awareness
programmes being implemented in CTO member countries.
CTO PRESENTATIONS ON GOOD PRACTICES AVAILABLE FOR
DOWNLOAD ON THE INTERNET
- Historic Core Cottages in St. Eustatius Presentation
- Community Tourism In Dominica Presentation
- Mitigating the Impact of Natural Disasters - Grenada
- Best Practices in Tourism Management - Presentation by McHale Andrew,
CTO/CRSTDP Advisor at the CTO/CRSTDP Statistics and Information Management
Workshop, October 2005.
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OUTPUTS OF THE CARIBBEAN REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (CRSTDP)
Taxation and Operating Costs for the Caribbean Hotel Sector
Soft Adventure Demand in the Caribbean, 2006
Good-Best Practices in Tourism Linkages – CD-Rom
Caribbean Air Transportation Study 2007
Operational Manual for Directors and Presidents of National Hotel Associations
Management and Operational Tools for Hotel Association Executives
Catalogue of Authentic Caribbean Craft – CD-Rom
Survey of Residents’ Attitudes towards Tourism: Barbados, St. Lucia and Trinidad
& Tobago, 2007
Final Draft Report of Study on Readiness Assessment & Implementation Plan for
Tourism Satellite Accounts in the Caribbean
Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework - April 2008 (CTO)
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OTHER RECENT INDUSTRY REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS
The Caribbean - The Impact of Travel & Tourism on Jobs and the Economy (2004)
World Travel and Tourism Council
The Caribbean Accommodation Sector as a Consumer of Locally Produced Goods
and Services and Contributor to Government Revenues (Report of a ProInvest-funded
study)
The views of the Caribbean Hotel Association on the CRNM report on "Tourism
Services Negotiations-Implications for CARIFORUM”
CHA-CTO Position paper on global climate change and the Caribbean tourism
industry
Multi-Hazard Contingency Planning Manual for the Caribbean Tourism Sector
Hotel Classification Systems - A Summary of articles and information
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