Caribbean News
GRENADA’S PRIME MINISTER, SANDALS EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN ISSUE STRONG CALL FOR UNIFIED APPROACH TO REGIONAL TOURISM
May, 2024, St. Georges, Grenada – Prime Minister of Grenada Hon. Dickon Mitchell says stakeholders from a wide cross section of the economy must be included in conversations if the Caribbean is to secure the sustainability of its tourism sector.
Speaking at the 2024 Sustainable Tourism Conference in Grenada on April 22nd, the Prime Minister noted that partnership is important to ensure the industry’s success “if we are talking about sustainable tourism, we need partnership in order to sustain ourselves. So it means that when we have our conversations we need to be a little more inclusive. Invite the farmers, agro processors, fishermen, supply chain people to help us sustain this tourism industry which is our crown jewel in the Caribbean.”
Delivering the key note at the conference, Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International Adam Stewart supported the Prime Minister’s call to action, noting that it is only when there is strong partnership among all sectors – private and public – that true sustainability in the regional tourism industry can be achieved.
The conference, which is organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, focused on five key elements for sustainability; People, Planet, Prosperity, Purpose and Partnership. Stewart maintained that it is that last element, “Partnership”, which is key, “perhaps the most powerful part of the five Ps is partnership, public/private partnership. The public sector has a role and the private sector has a role to the degree to which those two things come together determines your gains and your future. So our job, through my eyes in the short time I get to talk is unity, it’s for all of us to come together, to stand together, to take head on the challenges that we face and to find a way to include everybody.’
The Sandals leader noted that regional stakeholders have already demonstrated that it can be done, urging participants at the conference to throw their minds back to the COVID pandemic, when all sectors joined hands making the Caribbean the fastest recovering region for tourism anywhere on the planet, “we pulled together, we unified. We, for the first time in the Caribbean, recognised that we are only as strong as we are together. We worked with the farmers, we worked with the transportation sector, the tour providers, the fishers, the entertainers, even the priests and pastors. I saw the most beautiful harmony take place, I saw cruise ships working with land-based operators in a way that never happened before. The whole supply chain, the linkages came together.”
Stewart maintained that this lesson must never be forgotten, but be the template which drives regional tourism into a bright future, “I believe we must approach all of this with humility, with inclusivity and with open dialogue. We as business leaders and policy makers in government have to dig deeper. We have to stop relying, or pointing to say that’s government business or that’s private sector business. The sooner we come together with the collective to understand that it is our Caribbean business, is the sooner we will get advancement.”
Warning that the traveller today has a wider variety of options fuelled by what they see on social media platforms, Stewart said the region must be more competitive and more ready than ever to attract and welcome visitors, which requires close cooperation between
public and private sector, “customers don’t owe us anything. They are explorers. They have the internet and YouTube to guide them without ever leaving the living room. So for us to talk about sustainability we have to do a number of things in harmony. You win when you are frictionless. Tourism, ladies and gentlemen, is the path of least resistance, make it easy for me to get there.”
Stewart went further to state that islands of the Caribbean should not view each other as competitors but recognise that they are one product, “Antigua is not competing with Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia is not competing with Grenada and Grenada is not competing with Jamaica. The world says Caribbean and they put us together, we are in the pot whether we like it or not. We are competing against France, Italy, Germany, London, Singapore, Dubai …that’s who we are truly competing against. And what we can offer differently I promise you, they can’t do it. Their beaches are not as beautiful, their people are not as warm and friendly in the way our people are, and our stories are more fascinating.”
However, Stewart said the region can only truly realise its potential when stakeholders unite and seek solutions in a non-adversarial, inclusive way with a level of maturity. “To the degree that we can get those things to work together; agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and all the services working in harmony, the private sector and the public sector, will define our future.”
Captions:
Header: Prime Minister of Grenada Hon. Dickon Mitchell.
Insert: Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International Adam Stewart.
TCI Sports Commission delegation traveled to the Cayman Islands and Barbados to visit with key Sport leaders. The TCI delegation included the Sports Commission Director, Mr. Jarrett Forbes, Deputy Director, Mr. Alvin Parker, and Facility Manager for Providenciales, Mr. Darian Forbes. The aim of the travel was to visit major facilities, with priorities being pool facilities, and discuss sport development strategies.
The team had the pleasure of being hosted by the Deputy Chief Officer for Sport, Dr. Dalton Walter, and the Director of Sports, Mr. Kurt Hyde in the Cayman Islands; who facilitated the facility tours and shared valuable information on Sports Development. Meetings were held with Deputy Chief Officer Ms. Joan West and Technical Director for the Cayman Islands Aquatics Sport Association, Mr. Jacky Pellerin, on the Cayman Islands’ new 50-meter and 25 meter 10 lanes Mrytha pool facility, as well as with Ms. Shakeina Bush from the National Olympic Office on National Federation development and funding opportunities. The Sports Commission delegation was also grateful for the courtesy call with the Minister of Sport for the Cayman Islands, Hon. Isaac Rankine, and the Chief Officer Ms. Teresa Echenique.
During the Barbados leg of the exploratory travel, the Sports Commission team was hosted by the Director of the National Sports Council, Mr. Neil Murrell, and the Assistant Director of Sports, Mr. Ryan Toppin. The TCI team toured the National Sport Council facilities and visited the Barbados National Olympic Association. Significant to the TCI’s plan to develop an aquatic center, the TCI Sports Commission visited the Barbados Aquatic Sport Association and met with former National Olympic Academy Director, Mr. Dave Farmer, and the President and Second Vice President of the Barbados Swim Association, Mr. Robert Armstrong and Mr.
Nicholas Mathis. Insights were shared regarding swimming pool design, development and maintenance as well as pool programming strategies to ensure the growth and sustainability of swimming in the islands.
The TCI delegation also visited other stadium facilities such as Track and Field, Football and Cricket, and other major facilities in Basketball and Boxing. The TCI Sport Commission officials had great discussions with both the Cayman Islands and Barbados sports officials surrounding the development of coaches, athlete development pathways, and strengthening relationships with National Sport Governing Bodies.
Director of Sports, Mr. Jarrett Forbes, said, “We were very grateful for the hospitality and support extended by our Caribbean colleagues. Their support affirmed the commitment and unity among the Caribbean community to develop sports in the region.”
Garfield Ekon
Staff Writer
June 7, 2024 – United Nations (UN) Secretary General, His Excellency Antonio Guterres has said that international financing is the “fuel for sustainable development” but small island States are running low on the funding.
Addressing day two of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS24), in Caribbean twin island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, the Secretary General said while financing is low, the countries are drowning in debt and rising sea levs due to Climate Change.
“You are leading by example, but too often you are facing closed doors, from institutions and, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic and other global happenings have negatively impacted vulnerable economies, and “battered by a Climate catastrophe they did not create”, he told the gathering.
The SIDS countries are paying more to service their own debt than they invest in healthcare and education, the UN chief warned,
leaving the nations unable to make the investments they need to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Many of the States are classified as middle-income, shutting them out of the debt support reserved for the poorest nations, the UN Chief argued that vital actions are needed from international financial institutions, in addition to an immediate SDG stimulus for the SIDS nations.
He outlined that the debt burden should be relieved, by providing access to effective relief mechanisms, including pauses in payments during times of economic volatility, while also transforming lending practices by changing the rules on concessional finance to lower borrowing costs. “You cannot finance education and health with 15-year loans. Let us make SIDS a real priority in everything we do,” he said.
Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley said there was simply no political will on the part of the developed world to make the financial system work fairly, as she enquired how many of those leaders have turned up in Antigua. “We are not seen”, she said, adding that “we continue to be serfs” when it comes to the power imbalance.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are in the crossfires of multiple crises: Climate Change, the economic and social repercussions of COVID-19, and a crisis of debt. The pandemic hugely impacted all island nations, especially those dependent on tourism. Global lockdowns left large holes in islands’ coffers and severely set back efforts to invest in the SDGs.
Garfield Ekon
Staff Writer
June 7, 2024 – The United Nations (UN) programme, Transcultura, which seeks to integrate Caribbean, and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, has been selected to receive the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Partnerships Awards 2024.
Operate under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), it is the largest programme in Latin American and the Caribbean, and is a four-year initiative for young cultural professionals, artists, and entrepreneurs from 17 Caribbean countries.
Implemented in three languages, it provides them with opportunities for their future, in the region and in Europe, through training, support to entrepreneurship, networking and mobility programmes. With 15 million euros (16.5 million US dollars) provided by the European Union (EU), Transcultura is also the most significant EU investment in culture in the region.
In four years, over 1,600 young people from 17 Caribbean SIDS have benefited from the programme, with more than 50% being
women. Through a combination of in-person and online courses, 600 cultural professionals have been trained. It has also facilitated cooperative cultural exchanges involving over 200 organisations from the Caribbean and the European EU.
The programme resulted in the establishment of the Caribbean Cultural Training Hub, which fostered synergies between key educational institutions in the region. The award’s jury recognised the transformative impact of the Transcultura programme, empowering young people in the region to become agents of change and development in their communities through culture and creativity.
It was established by UN Member States in 2021 to recognise the efforts of the best and most notable partnerships in the implementation of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway (SAMOA Pathway). The goal is to inspire others to embark on such partnerships with SIDS.
Transcultura programme leverages the rich cultural diversity of the Caribbean as a driving force of sustainable development through cooperation and exchange within the Caribbean and between the Caribbean and the EU. It aims to create professional opportunities for young people in the Cultural and Creative Industries.
Beneficiary countries are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
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