Caribbean Tourism Conference Gets Electric Start
ST. THOMAS, USVI, October 24, 2005. Newly installed Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace wants his organization and the Caribbean Hotel Association to own, protect, advance and enhance the Caribbean brand and have the fruits of such efforts redound to the benefit of the Caribbean people.
Delivering an electric opening address at the 28th Caribbean Tourism Conference in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands today, Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace charted the direction for a unified Caribbean tourism industry, announcing CTO's decision to take ownership of the Caribbean brand.
"A brand is a reputation to make sure you are going to deliver something consistently at a high level of quality," the CTO secretary general told some 700 delegates gathered at the Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort for the opening of the 28th annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-28).
He reasoned that strong brands, products and services with strong reputations perform much better than others in economic terms. "Tourism is an economic development tool ... we have to speak about tourism and measure tourism success in economic terms not visitor head counts only," said Vanderpool-Wallace, who called for the end of all tourism-led initiatives that do not result in increased foreign exchange, increased employment, poverty reduction, an improved reputation and stronger economic linkages.
Dismissing the "fable" that tourism is fickle, the Harvard-educated tourism chief argued that the industry has a natural global comparative advantage and has proven to be resilient. He warned however there if there is no focus on delivering a quality experience, nothing else will work. "It's the experience, stupid," he stressed.
Addressing a wide range of themes, from human resource development to natural environmental protection and the upgrade of the tourism plant, the secretary general outlined plans for the establishment of a business development unity, a single consumer website, the better use of immigration card data for research and customer response, an official Caribbean magazine, a Miss Caribbean Pageant, Caribbean Fashion Week and a consolidated approach to advertising and promotion.
Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace also wants to establish Caribbean trade and consumer shows and Caribbean awards for innovation in tourism; share visitor views with the local population; involve the Diaspora to grow the Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) market; and attract low cost, high quality air services and intra-Caribbean ferries.
By placing value on the region's product and experience, he reasoned that the Caribbean will know success "when we stop charging departure taxes (and) and start charging admission!"
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