THE TOURISM INDUSTRY has long been regarded as one of the primary vehicles for social and economic development of the countries in the greater Caribbean.
Aware that tourism is highly competitive and demands innovative marketing strategies to ensure long term success, it has become increasingly necessary to strengthen cooperation networks between countries so as to increase and better share the revenues generated by tourism.
From a geopolitical perspective, it is believed that the region can gain a competitive advantage and thus enhance sustainability if it can package and market its varied attractions more cohesively to entice potential visitors.
Historically, the approach to tourism development has been the single-destination model, where each country and/or destination competes for its market share, utilising various marketing and promotion strategies to attract visitors.
This unilateral approach is still very prevalent among the countries of the greater Caribbean, in spite of efforts by various regional agencies to promote joint ventures.
From a visitor’s perspective, a multi-destination tourism package will afford travellers the opportunity to experience different destinations/localities, with each experience fulfilling a different desire of the visitor.
This will become even more important in seeking to add value for visitors to the region, given the impediments to travel that have been imposed by some countries, which make travel less pleasant and more costly.
Such packaging will also contribute to enhancing the continued appeal of the region, and thus mitigate the increase in competition from other tourist regions.
From a destination perspective, there are several benefits, economically and otherwise to be derived from multi-destination tourism. It is well known that the old cliché of labelling the Caribbean as the destination for sun, sea and sand, while not being fully representative of the uniqueness and diversity of the region’s destinations, is also no longer sufficient to attract the more experiential and socially conscious modern consumer.
With the increasing popularity of niche market tourism, there is an opportunity to position the region as a multi-destination travel option and attract new markets as the natural, historic and cultural attributes of each country is further developed and promoted. This requires willingness and commitment on the part of the countries to coordinate marketing, product development and investment strategies as one greater Caribbean destination, even while continuing to develop their unique attractions.
From a regional perspective, multi-destination tourism offers the opportunity for each country to ensure maximum output from its tourism investments and related activities. This is important in view of the current threats and uncertainties facing the tourism sector.
Currently, little multi-destination tourism activity exists in the region. There have been attempts by diverse subregional groupings particularly in relation to marketing, which have met with varying degrees of success. Notably, what is consistently lacking is the necessary packaging and establishment of support mechanisms to facilitate travel between countries.
The Association of Caribbean States recognises that most of the factors that will enhance multi-destination tourism will also positively impact on the overall tourism industry in the region, thus facilitating its long term profitability. The success of any multi-destination regional strategy in the greater Caribbean, however, is directly related to the willingness and commitment to create an enabling environment for its development, from both a private and public sector perspective.
Julio Orozco is the Association of Caribbean States’ director of sustainable tourism.