Remarks by Hugh Riley, Secretary General, Caribbean Tourism Organization
Honourable Ministers, members of the European Parliament, Madam Secretary General, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, distinguished ladies and gentlemen….
The Caribbean Tourism Organization has a long and distinguished record of service to the 33 member-countries and the private sector entities it has the honor to serve. Over the years its mission, to help establish tourism as a sustainable means of social and economic development for the Caribbean, has taken a multi-faceted approach. For while the organization has been known at various times for its marketing, advocacy, research, information management, human resource development, environmental concerns and public relations functions, it is clear that these activities all center around the core purpose of delivering the services and information necessary for the development of tourism in a manner that is socially responsible and economically sustainable.
During the course of the day you will hear us mention some familiar figures that point to the fact that tourism, now responsible for 15 to 70% of GDP in the Caribbean, has not only become the number one industry in our region, but its centrality to the core of our livelihood has made the Caribbean more tourism-dependent than any other region in the world.
Consequently, the Caribbean is more vulnerable than any other to economic shocks, human and man-made disasters and a variety of conditions that threaten to disrupt the flow of visitor traffic to our destinations.
But because the tourism industry is itself more resilient than almost any other form of international commerce, the industry has in some ways become the victim of its own success. No matter how devastating the images appear to be of the latest disaster to befall a tourism destination, observers know with some certainty that the public – those over 900 million souls who exercise the right to travel internationally across the globe each year – will be back.
So the assurance that tourism bounces back against all odds has sometimes lulled the world into ignoring the intervening pain.
That anesthetic that seems to dull one’s sensitivity to human suffering can have the effect of cutting off aid, delaying the fulfillment of pledges and reneging on promises while development is held in suspension. Often the result is almost immeasurable suffering inflicted upon a population, while the world waits in the certain knowledge that eventually the crowds will come back. Older generations of Caribbeans used to describe it simply by saying “while the grass is growing the horse is starving.”
Likewise, the Caribbean itself has perhaps been the victim of its own success. After all, we are a region so accustomed to doing much with little, that we ourselves wear with honor the badge that reads “we are resource-full, even though not resource-rich.”
Yet there is a certain undeniable truth that bubbles within us; and that is, the knowledge that if we had more we would do more.
We have empirical evidence to prove that on the rare occasions when the Region mustered the funds to market itself as a unified, Caribbean brand, tourism grew by an astonishing 7% across the region, and fell again when the campaign’s budget disappeared. We realize that, much as we talk about the Caribbean’s unique opportunities to capitalize on tourism as a tool of poverty-alleviation and economic advancement, the resources and technical assistance to fully capitalize do not all reside within our boundaries.
We know that much as we have become more and more dependent upon hard facts for our decision-making, trend analysis and forecasting ability, the prospect of establishing tourism satellite account systems throughout the region is unrealizable without the resources to design and implement these systems.
We know that the dream of providing a sound and valuable tourism curriculum in our schools, to unleash the creativity, the leadership and entrepreneurial skills to launch us firmly into the future, is at risk of becoming merely a dream.
The same goes for any number of other worthy and very necessary projects that are urgently needed to shore up the Caribbean’s competitive position in the high-stakes game of international tourism.
The ability to market our region in an effective and consistent manner has continued to elude us, even in the face of mounting evidence of our region’s declining global market share.
Recently our region introduced the Total Visitor Satisfaction index, already recognized as a valuable and very necessary tool for illustrating the Caribbean’s seriousness in tackling the age-old challenge of offering, measuring and consistently delivering a superb vacation experience. Total Visitor Satisfaction or TVS, could easily run the risk of being relegated to the pile of the unimplemented.
All of this is to say, ladies and gentlemen, that Caribbean tourism is ready to deliver new and innovative programs and to strengthen those that are clearly valuable.
But often we are guilty of lacking specificity, or simply failing to be the ‘squeaky wheel’. That’s changing.
In addition to the specific activities already listed, the CTO plays an important role in offering consolidated representation on global issues affecting tourism. The best example of our advocacy programme is our regional response to the UK aviation taxation policy, a matter on which we have been able to build a considerable consensus of opinion across borders.
Ladies and gentlemen, the CTO recognises our responsibility to actively engage with the European Union in areas of common interest, and it is for that reason that we have organised this summit in Brussels. Clearly, we in the Caribbean need to better understand Europe’s evolving priorities for multilateral and bilateral development assistance, particularly in regard to our primary industry.
If we overlook tourism’s importance as a development tool in the Caribbean and its potential to improve the social and economic well-being of the 40 million people we represent, we are seriously imperilling our populations.
The tourism annex of the Economic Partnership Agreement does point to some specific areas where closer development collaboration between the EU and CARIFORUM should yield benefits. These are identified as:
– Sustainable development of tourism
– Environmental and quality standards
– Development of regional and national satellite accounting systems
– Development of Internet marketing strategies
– Mechanisms to ensure effective participation in international standard setting bodies
– Tourism exchange programs
– Training
– Exchange of information and best practice
These are all areas that are priorities for Caribbean tourism, but we need to act now to develop mechanisms that will meet the joint objectives as outlined by the EPA, so that when funding for projects becomes available, we can access this funding quickly.
This requires those in CARIFORUM and the EU who are responsible, to treat tourism as a greater priority so that the enthusiasm and innovative ideas generated by the EPA are not lost, and the energy and goodwill exuded in Brussels will yield concrete results.
