Although the tourism forecast remains blurry for the Caribbean, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe is foreshadowing significant growth in the country’s number one industry.
Minister Wilchcombe remains optimistic about tourism recovery in the country, despite the impending war between the United States and Iraq.
“We’re still holding our own within the Caribbean,” Minister Wilchcombe told The Bahama Journal. “We’re the leaders and we’re going to better our product. We are making changes to our North American offices, putting in place individuals who will carry the program forward.”
“I’m putting in a contingency plan because if there is a war, I suspect the war can’t last more than two to three weeks or maybe a month and so you’ve got to be ready to move right after the war. So even if there is a short bump, I don’t worry too much about that.
I think we ought to be ready…I can’t do anything about it…I can only be prepared for the future,” he added.
Government officials review the restoration of tourism as a bright spot for an ailing economy.
Officials have also pointed out that if there is a war, tourism activity could drop by 20 percent. It’s something Central Bank Governor Julian Francis said recently in an interview with The Bahama Journal while giving an update on the state of the economy.
Minister Wilchcombe said tourism officials are working on a Plan B to prevent the fallout from a possible war.
“As you know, we ended the year still worried about airlift to the capital, but we’re working to turn that around and we’re optimistic based on the numbers now. But, of course, you know, we still have to work.
“We won’t be satisfied until we get it to the numbers that are more comfortable and we’re able to get the numbers up to at least 20 to 30 percent more. So there’s a lot of work to do. But the point is, we’re making strides,” Minister Wilchcombe said.
He said officials must be proactive to minimize the affect on the tourism industry should the war take place. Already, strategies are in place to lure travelers, he said.
In January, a $200,000 promotion with U.S Air, resulted in 10,000 bookings to the Islands of the Bahamas, Minister Wilchcombe told Members of Parliament last week.
In the interim, Minister Wilchcombe believes that electronic commerce will play an integral role in the country’s tourism product. “At the end of the day, I believe we will have a much stronger and sustained tourism product,” he said.
A package of e-commerce bills is presently before the House of Assembly.
The Ministry of Tourism has made key changes to the deployment of its staff as officials focus on marketing strategies to boost tourism activities.
Kerry Fountain, the former General Manager of the North America tourism market for The Bahamas, will now function at the level of Senior Director, with responsibility for Internet use, including development of websites. He will also head airlifts and the airline distribution system in the Americas.
In anticipation of the package of legislation officials say would create a framework for the transaction of business on the Internet, between October 2001 and February 2002, the Ministry of Tourism conducted a survey to determine the popularity of the Internet among visitors.
“The survey demonstrates the importance of the Internet to tourism and the growth of The Bahamas,” Minister Wilchcombe said. “The Internet plays an invaluable part in what we are doing to get more visitors to the country.”
According to Minister Wilchcombe, of the 1,700 stopover visitors who participated in the survey, 74 percent of them have email; 62 percent use the Internet in travel planning; 10 percent book their hotels via the Internet; 21 percent book destination activities through the Internet and 15 percent have purchased airline tickets through the Internet.
Minister Wilchcombe foreshadowed that through airline bookings via the Internet, the earnings from the growth of tourism will grow by 20 percent.
By Hadassah Hall, The Bahama Journal
