New Year’s message from acting secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization 

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“Embrace the value of speaking with one voice, ONE CARIBBEAN, to the rest of the world.”   Neil Walter (Acting Secretary-General, CTO)

What cannot be denied is the fact that the Caribbean is the home of tourism.

If we take a look at tourism today, we will see that it is not only the shores, the sun, the sand, and the food that bring people back to the Caribbean. It is much more than that. It is the people. There is a spirit that is exuded by people from the Caribbean that is intoxicating. It is individuals who work in hospitality that don’t see it as just a job. They see the value of the service that they provide to visitors who come to their island. It is the sole reason that the Caribbean Tourism Industry is as successful as it is.

Why is a tenacious tourism industry relevant to us as a community? Why is it relevant to us as individuals? Well, on a basic level, we all tend to get caught up in our daily lives, which can lead to dangers of getting stuck in unpleasant situations (jobs, careers, relationships). What traveling does for us is repair us physically and psychologically. It allows us to take a break from the everyday. Allows us to breath. What is encouraging to know is that there are organizations out there that educate Caribbean communities about their importance in the vast industry. One such organization is the Caribbean Tourism Organization (https://www.onecaribbean.org/).

The Caribbean Tourism Organization continues to provide services and information needed for the development of sustainable tourism, and how this benefits Caribbean people economically and socially. At the end of June 2019, some changes began at CTO, which started with Hugh Riley, stepping down from his role as Secretary-General. Since then, his successor Neil Walters, has stepped into the position, with a goal to change to match the demands of the time and to re-educate the community about the value of Caribbean tourism.

Along with his role as Acting Secretary-General, Neil Walters is also CTO’s Director of Financial Management. He joined CTO in 2000 and held the position of Director of Finance and Resource Management since November 2009. The rewarding part of this job for Walters is that everyday, his job allows him to contribute to the development of Caribbean people.

“What is also becoming clearer to us is that we have not begun to fully and responsibly harness the power of our culture and heritage in defining who we are, and this is critical as we seek to offer authentic experiences, which benefit both the visitor and the communities in which these experiences exist.”

2019 was a year, which both highlighted the strengths in Caribbean tourism and its weaknesses. In Walters’ New Year’s message, he highlights these points:

“The sector’s strengths were evident in the significant growth rates experienced by most Caribbean countries. Despite contraction in some larger destinations, such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean experienced an overall 6.1% level of growth in visitor arrivals during the first nine months of the year. It is noteworthy that the growth rates of those countries affected by the 2017 hurricanes were substantial, in some cases up to triple-digit levels.

 During early September, Hurricane Dorian ravaged a portion of the northern Bahamas. The devastation caused was a further wake-up call to us in the region that the climatic changes are here and likely irreversible. It is our responsibility to create resilience in not only the tourism sector, but also all sectors of our economies and by extension all sections of our societies.

The cruise sector has also had a strong showing in 2019 with a 5.8% growth rate for the first three quarters. Implicit in this growth of cruise visits is the fact that as occurred in 2018, there has been consistent growth of cruise visits in each quarter of 2019, albeit at rates which are lower than those experienced in 2018.”

This level of recovery speaks volumes about the resilience, and commitment of the Caribbean to this industry, which has become the lifeblood of many of the islands.

In 2020, the theme ‘Year of Festivals’ will continue as it was recognized that twelve months is not long enough to capture the fullness of the Caribbean culture.

“This year we hope to move even further along the path of integrating our festivals and other cultural events into the tourism product in all our countries. We recognize that not only do these aspects of our individual countries distinguish us from each other, but they also hold significant potential in the quest to attract even more visitors to our shores.”

After analysing the recorded statistics and results of Caribbean tourism in 2019, it is expected that 2020 will be another year of growth, and Walters, and the team at CTO will be pooling their resources to become a stronger force that will assist in maintaining the growth of tourism to the Caribbean.

“On behalf of the CTO Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism, Board of Directors and the staff of the CTO, I want to thank you all for standing with us in 2019 and we look forward to your support in 2020. I wish for a year filled with blessings, growth and prosperity for this region we love.”