Caribbean Destinations Urged to Find Ways to Boost Business

Caribbean Destinations Urged to Find Ways to Boost Business
By Anika E Kentish (The Antigua Observer)

Caribbean destinations are being challenged to find creative ways to boost business even as tourists have fewer dollars to spend on their vacation.

“How do you get the consumer to part with their hard–earned dollar is something that not just the travel and industry, but everyone else is fighting for right now. We just have to stay on top of our game,” United States Virgin Islands Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty said at a weekend conference.

“Overall, you really do have to look at your strategy, look at the new visitor, see how you target potential visitors that you may have been in the past. We’re all fighting for the same dollar,” she said.

She noted that discretionary income for Americans has diminished so significantly in recently that they are spending 60 percent less than they had been before. And so with fewer tourism dollars to go around, Caribbean destinations will have to get more creative in wooing visitors into spending more.

“One of the things that we have looked at is how do you shift your marketing strategy to address the fact that there’s a change in climate. What are the new niches that you go after?” the tourism officials told delegates at the Caribbean Media Exchange (CMEx).

Nicholson-Doty said her destination, which includes St Thomas, St John and St Croix, has been looking at ways to expand and has found some success in the diving market.

She noted that a tourist who has a particular hobby or interest is more likely to spend money on a vacation. She explained that developing the diving market should help to sustain the tourism industry through these very difficult times.

She added that the US territory also had success with offering discounts that would entice tourists to visit restaurants and attractions or buy certain products they otherwise may not have considered.

“What we’ve found is that just in a six month period that we could measure a quarter of a million dollars in incremental spend tracked directly to that program,” Nicholson-Doty said.

She urged industry stakeholder to find ways to develop niche markets.

The pressing issue of finding innovative ways to revitalize the tourism sector is one of many under consideration at the 20th edition of the Caribbean Media Exchange under way in St Thomas USVI.

Under the theme “Communicating for Clarity and Prosperity” CMEx brought together journalists and other media practitioners, tourism and environment officials and other professionals for talks on best practices for sustainable tourism and establishing smart partnerships.