Not tourism business as usual

Jamaican's Tourism Minister says the way forward for the industry can't utilize the old methods of doing business.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Thursday May 12, 2011 – What was good enough for before the recession cannot be sufficient for after. That’s the message Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is sending to regional stakeholders, as he insists that moving forward it cannot be business as usual and industry players must immediately put measures in place to take advantage of post-recession opportunities for growth and development.

He said he was confident that shortly after the end of the recession, the Caribbean will see new investments coming from untapped markets such as Russia, China among other countries.

“We need to take a critical look at tourism and the progress that has been made over the last 10 years and move to adjust the product to meet the challenges and opportunities that the new era…post-recession brings with it,” Bartlett said.

“We need to look at marketing and the areas that we target and move to open new markets to Caribbean tourism.”

The Tourism Minister added that a critical look must also be taken at the level and the nature of investments that the Caribbean has been able to attract in the last decade and make the necessary adjustments in order to keep pace with growing trends and demands.

He said this was necessary to move into new markets and attract new investments aimed at new clients.

The Tourism Minister is hoping that deliberations during the two-day Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference, which ends today, will result in new and innovative ways to position and retool the Caribbean as a top destination for tourism.

Bartlett said that new capital, technology, products and partnerships are required as the Caribbean, as a region, seeks to solidify its dominance in world tourism.

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