There are New Ways to Lure Travellers says Tourism expert From Jamaica

 By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#Jamaica, May 27, 2022 – Sun, sand and sea are no longer enough and Jamaica should know; said to be the Caribbean country with the highest bookings into Summer and with its tourism leaders continuously blazing trails and making bold global statements about its destination.

Carolyn McDonald-Riley Director of the Tourism Linkages Network at Tuesday’s Invest Turks and Caicos Economic Conference stood resolutely at the third installment of the Invest Turks and Caicos Agency Economic Conference and announced, ‘Caribbean countries must shake it up if they want to remain some of the most sought after tourist destinations worldwide.’

McDonald-Riley explained that tourism is being largely pushed by the younger generation who were traveling more, spending more and traveling longer and wanted “new authentic and customized experiences.”

With the advent of social media, newer niche destinations which can offer that are gaining more and more traction.

“Travelers now are more interested in connecting with places and people. They desire more memorable experiences that are intrinsically personal, engage their senses and leave long lasting impressions. The observations imply that Caribbean destinations may now need to revisit the whole notion of competitiveness.”

She explained that destinations that failed to differentiate themselves from others by developing tourism products that allow them to expand their appeal would likely be left behind in the changing market. She insisted that in the Caribbean, “There is an urgent need among us to prioritize strategies that will allow us to achieve greater segmentation and product diversification.”

She explained five strategies that Jamaica had used between 2017 to 2022 in an effort to snag 5 million arrivals, in 5 years, to earn 5 billion dollars. They included identifying new markets, developing new products, developing new partnerships, new investments and embarking on human resource development.

She insisted that it was time for students to not just leave school with academic skills, but experience and certification insisting that building human capital is what is key to a successful tourism industry.

She also stressed that developing passion points, which only our respective people could offer and that interested tourists in one country specifically would expand the appeal of the respective destinations and get locals involved in the tourism value chain.

This explained the veteran tourism advisor would help with the high level of ‘leakage’ in the Caribbean.

Leakage is the revenue lost because of how much of the goods associated with tourism are imported McDonald-Riley explained, noting that the Caribbean has about 80 percent leakage.

“This means that for every dollar spent by foreign tourists 80 is lost to the importation of goods.”

Increasing the consumption of local goods is the way to lower this number and keep more money in the islands. She noted that agriculture and gastronomy were two surefire ways to do so, mentioning kite festivals and regattas as marketable events.

“The ability of the country to provide through local and indigenous processes determines the wealth gain from the industry, it could be the bed that they sleep in, do we manufacture it? The products that they use, the transport, this is an opportunity for us to earn a part of tourism.”

The event was held to a cozy but vested audience at the Beaches Turks and Caicos resort, and deemed a strategical success as it welcomed country leaders including Hon Washington Misick, TCI Premier and Anya Williams, TCI Deputy Governor.