The lure of pristine, sandy beaches, swathed in an unspoilt, natural habitat and sprinkled with intrinsically indigenous heritage have long wooed tourists from fast-paced cities, eager for life in the slow lane.
Add service levels unmatched anywhere else and you just might have the makings of a competitive tourism product.
But tourism professionals are banking on much more for the industry to make it top notch.
A more viable, resilient Caribbean tourism product may very well hinge on the creation of a Caribbean Tourism Strategic Plan and a Sustainable Tourism Development Fund to finance it, key tourism professionals have suggested.
And while the Bahamas Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Obie Wilchcombe spoke with a sense of urgency about the need for a sustainable fund for tourism, he says there are some parameters that the country must insist on.
“The Bahamas would be supportive of a sustainable development fund that does not impose new taxation on the Bahamian people or does not cause undue pressure on our partners in tourism,” the Tourism Minister told the Bahama Journal.
It is a sensitive issue that tourism professionals and their heads of government are considering. But no concrete agreements have yet been made.
The overview of the Strategic Caribbean Tourism Development Plan that was presented to the CTO’s Council of Ministers on Sunday proposed creating the fund through a mandatory US $5 tax on air and sea visitors, half of which would be paid into a regional account to finance regional and sub regional programmes.
The other half would go to into a national tourism account to support public and private sector programmes. The fund would be governed by an Authority with the directors appointed by participating governments, according to the plan.
But Minister Wilchcombe says that formula has not been widely accepted by regional governments and private sectors.
“So for the most part, that is a dead issue,” he said of the tax on U.S. tourists.
On Sunday, Mr. Wilchcombe, who is newly elected to another two year term as CTO chairman, appointed a committee lead by US Virgin Islands Commissioner of tourism Pam Richards to review the Strategic Plan and determine how best it could be financed.
Other proposals may be developed during the CTC conference and during discussions between now and next June when ministers are scheduled to meet in conference.
The gatekeepers in the tourism industry who are putting their shoulders to the grindstone in intense sessions at the Our Lucaya Resort are starting from scratch as they seek to reinvent Caribbean tourism.
The product is not top notch, officials have admitted, and the proposed fund is being viewed as a vehicle to upgrade the crucial industry that has become the economic centrepiece for the region.
Frankly, the Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Jean Holder, said tourism in the region has become uncompetitive, the Caribbean ‘s voice in the marketplace is somewhat dimmed and the quality of service is being questioned, not to mention low profitability, inadequate air access and institutions and systems in need of modernization.
But some smaller Caribbean nations, struggling to keep their heads above water have the added challenge of financing, something that officials hope could be partially remedied through the Sustainable Tourism Development Fund.
“Reinventing Caribbean Tourism is about putting all this right and we now have a regional strategic plan which seeks to guide us as we take appropriate action. We need to use it. We need to finance its implementation,” Mr. Holder said.
In fact, the CTO Secretary General is recommending that Caribbean Heads of Government should examine the feasibility of the fund. However, he conceded, stringent responsibilities should be attached to the proposal.
“If they are going to discuss what putting things right is going to cost and why they should mortgage their future and buck any opposition to their plans to create a Sustainable Tourism Development Fund, in order to finance a revolution in tourism development, then their time will be well spent,” he said.
CTO member countries are being asked to approve the final draft of the report and possibly agree to review progress on the implementation of the plan and its programmes in six months.
By Tameka Lundy, The Bahama Journal
