THE 2014 State of The Industry Conference (SOTIC) hosted by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) will take place against the backdrop of an encouraging half year industry performance with visitor arrivals up from major source market, while public and private sector tourism officials across the Region prepare to discuss ways to become more competitive.

The theme of the September 16 -17 Conference in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is “Realizing the Vision – Positioning Caribbean Tourism for Major Change”. Tourism policy makers, National Tourism Organization (NTO) officials, travel agents, tour operators, aviation industry executives and media representatives will attend the annual Conference.
The CTO Secretary General and CEO Hugh Riley believes more attention has to be paid to implementing strategies to realise the CTO’s vision of making the Caribbean the most desirable year-round warm weather destination, especially taking steps to improve the Region’s competitive position.

The keynote speaker, Alejandro Zozaya, the CEO of Apple Leisure Group, will provide insight into how to effectively conceive and realise a vision. Pennsylvania- based Apple Leisure Group is the worldwide leader in travel to the Caribbean, sending more visitors to the Region than any other company.
One of the most anticipated presentations at SOTIC will be from Chris Perkins, the former Chief Marketing Officer of , the first ever marketing organization charged with promoting foreign leisure, business and scholarly travel to the United States.

With the CTO and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) continuing to push for “Brand Caribbean”, the debate will continue at SOTIC 2014 on the on-going efforts to market Caribbean tourism destinations as a single regional brand. The Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC), owned by the two regional organizations, needs the resources to launch marketing campaigns to supplement the caribbeantravel.com website.
CTO member countries enjoyed a 4.3 per cent increase in visitor arrivals during the first six months of 2014, compared to the same period last year.
The CTO’s Director of Research and Information Technology, Winfield Griffith, reported that just under 14 million long-stay tourists visited the Caribbean between January and June, with nearly half this number (6.87 million) coming from the U. S. compared to 6.61 million during the same period in 2013. This represents a 3.9 per cent rise in arrivals from the US market.
The CTO Secretary General and CEO attributed the increase in arrivals, especially from the U.S., to improving consumer confidence in the major source market.
In addition to adjustments in the U.K. Air Passenger Duty, increased airlift from Europe to the Caribbean undoubtedly contributed to the 6 percent increase in European visitors to the Region for the first half of this year compared to a similar period in 2013. Canadian arrivals for the same period were up by 4.3 percent, according to data from 21 of CTO’s member countries.
Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic recorded double digit increases in U.S. arrivals for the first half of 2014. St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Montserrat and Curacao all recorded increases of over 20 percent in the number of Canadian visitors, while Barbados, Grenada, Dominica and the Cayman Islands saw a sizeable increase in arrivals from Europe.
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is reporting that for many hotels in the Region, it was the best summer since the global economic downturn that began in 2007. Some properties, including in the USVI, have been reporting an increase in occupancy as well as some double digit increases in Revenue Per Available Room (Rev PAR).
CHTA Chairman Richard Doumeng is encouraged by increasing government- private sector cooperation which he deems critical to achieving a much-needed facelift for the Region’s tourism products and infrastructure.
Doumeng contends that because visitors to the Region are more demanding and sophisticated, there is an urgent need in many destinations to improve hotel rooms, roads and restroom facilities, including at airports.
Outgoing CTO Chairman, the USVI Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty, has observed that the loss of seats from the pull-out of American Eagle to the Region was offset to some extent by the addition of new carriers to the Caribbean and expanded service by traditional airlines. The CTO is awaiting analysis on net seats into the Region for the first half of this year.
The CTO has projected that the Region will see an overall increase in arrivals of 3 percent for 2014.
The organisation is moving towards database management “to garner summary data and granular research info for niche marketing.” Riley believes the “goldmine of data” which the CTO has tells a story about visitors to the Region and can help equip destinations to more efficiently market themselves. The travel and tourism data can also be used to show the impact of tourism on the Region’s economies.
Another high profile tourism leader, Gloria Guevara Manzo, who is Mexico’s former Secretary of Tourism, will share her perspectives at the USVI Conference on “Steering a Mature Brand Toward major Chance”. Participants will also get expert advice from Qing Wu, a senior economist at Google.
One of the diversification strategies some destinations have been pursuing is introducing or expanding medical, health or wellness tourism, which is also on the agenda at SOTIC.
The conference will be preceded by Aviation Day, hosted by the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transportation Association (ALTA), the International Air Transportation Authority (IATA), CTO and a few other agencies.
At the USVI conference, industry officials will get an update on the status of the study on the impact of taxes on the tourism and hospitality industry.
Chairman of the CTO’s Aviation Task Force (ATF), Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador Brian Challenger, anticipates high level discussions on current constraints affecting the development and operation of the aviation sector and the identification of opportunities to overcome some of the obstacles.
The aviation meeting’s agenda includes sustainable market growth, improving passenger experience in the Caribbean, the latest technological trends, operational best practices, cost implications and strategies for 2014 and beyond.
In the area of passenger experience, Challenger has pointed to new airports in Antigua and Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and to the establishment of new and more direct routes by regional airlines. The CTO Task Force has identified and promoted a number of key initiatives, which include improving ease of inter-island travel through the removal or reduction of multiple security and screening checks and immigration requirements.
“Much still remains to be done with the ATF’s work stymied by lack of financing for this important initiative, and it is hoped that further progress will be achieved over the next year as the work of the ATF gains wider acceptance, support and recognition,” Challenger told me.

Sandra Ann Baptiste
(Sandra Ann Baptiste is a Business Consultant, Writer and Specialist in Caribbean Affairs)