…Minister Skerritt
THE 13th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development is part of the information dissemination and regional awareness component of Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s  strategy for sustainable tourism, and deciphers ways member states can design and implement sustainable tourism policies and programmes. During a snap press briefing with regional media personnel, Chairman of the CTO, Senator Richard Skerritt, in Guyana for last weekend’s Sustainable Tourism Development Conference, stated that sustainability is not a destination; it is a work in progress that never ends, and it is developing a national way of life for the benefit of the region’s people and countries, resulting in making destinations more desirable, value added, authentic, attractive and wealthy from tourism.
He noted that, at this point, sustainable practices mean good business. “Sustainable tourism is not just about conservation; it’s about economic development, bringing improved quality of life to villages and communities everywhere in the destination through tourism; and it’s about alleviating poverty, giving people hope, an opportunity to make a living without destroying what we have,” Skerritt emphasised.
He noted that in the Caribbean, there is a growing awareness about sustainability; however, some people still taking short-cuts; it is a challenge as to how taking a long-term view versus dealing with short – term urgencies is justified.
With regard to the Caribbean’s slow pace of being green globe certified and utilising renewable/alternative energy sources, Skerritt explained that the cost of almost any aspect of life is deeply affected by the recent massive increases in fuel, and the hotels, especially the small hotels, across the region have been suffering from having a significant portion of their cost relate to energy.
He recognised that the dilemma here is that the expertise involved in addressing it is not widespread. He referred to a project in St. Kitts and Nevis that is funded by the EU, which looks at specific measures to reduce the energy costs and includes looking at alternative methods.
Skerritt also highlighted steps being taken by Guyana with regard to the conservation and restoration of forests that have been mined out, an exemplary situation since the country is aware that its actions impact the world because of green-house gas effects.
He stressed that the issue of tourism generally and sustainable tourism is a philosophy and a strategy and a way of life, hence awareness and education depend heavily on the media. The media was urged to become experts in tourism, particularly in sustainable tourism.
CEO-Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Hugh Riley, indicated that the CTO is collaborating with the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association in a project called CHENACT – Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency Action Programme – which is funded by the Inter American Development Bank and a number of other institutions outside of the Caribbean.
He explained that CHENACT is a programme which looks at how the hotel sector uses energy, provides guidelines of reducing energy costs, and increases their profitability and competitiveness.
“The focal point is conserving energy, reducing our dependence on traditional fossil fuels, and making the Caribbean more competitive,” Riley stated.
He added that the Caribbean has led the way in this part of the world in terms of the use of solar energy; however a great deal more needs to be done.