Grenada Puts the German Market in Sight

As the leading Travel Trade Show, ITB Berlin is the foremost business platform for global touristic offers. This year’s edition gathered around 10,000 tourism companies from 186 countries and regions. Caribbean News Digital talked to Grenada Tourism Authority CEO, Patricia Maher, about the country’s interests in the trade show.

Patricia Maher joined the Grenada Tourism Authority a little over a year ago, when the country did not attend ITB. “I know that ITB is one of the world’s leading travel trade shows. It’s a global tourism event and Pure Grenada is a brand we need to promote globally. That’s the reason why we decided to come to ITB and see how this works. The German market is very important for Grenada because, first of all, it is a growing market. In 2017 we grew the German market by about 20 percent over 2016, a double-digit growth,” she said.

“We feel that what Grenada offers is really what the Germans are looking for, in terms of nature, activities, products. We are the spice of the Caribbean.”

Grenada has a weekly Condor flight from Frankfurt, from November through April, so it’s a winter-season flight. Most of the German visitors are coming from the Frankfurt area, Dusseldorf and a little from Munich as well.

“Sailing is one of their main interests in Grenada. We have over ten marinas. However, they are coming for many reasons. We have also excellent diving, where you can dive all year round, with some amazing dive wreck sites. In fact, Bianca C was just voted the best dive site in the Caribbean. Divers love this shipwreck.

“As the main reasons for Germans to visit Grenada, I would mention nature and the beauty of the island as number one. Wherever you go in Grenada, you experience beautiful sights. We’ve got like fifteen waterfalls in Grenada. Germans like to go outdoors and we’ve got a lot of hiking. They don’t just come and stay in a hotel, they like to experience the destination.”

As for gastronomy, Grenada is the spice of the Caribbean. “We love our food; we infuse our spices in everything you eat or drink. For example, you can have spicy chocolate or chocolate rum.

The natural products that grow in the Garden of Eden where we live are infused into all food and drink on the island. Wherever you eat, whether it is a local restaurant or top-class hotel, you are always getting very tasty, healthy Grenadian food.

In terms of European markets, the U.K. was traditionally one of the country’s strongest markets, but Central Europe is growing. “We have a representation in the German market and we want to grow beyond just Germany. We also have a lot of Swiss clientele.

The connection from Frankfurt to Grenada is seamless because you fly directly and return via Barbados. It’s a triangle flight directly. Whether you are in Austria, Spain, Italy, you can connect beautifully with Frankfurt to Grenada,” she explained.

As for Latin America, Grenada is working on airlift. “Ideally, we’d love to get Copa Airlines from Panama to connect into Grenada. They are flying to Barbados now, so they are very close. Hopefully, with that airlift, we can promote Grenada even more to the Latin American market.

“We have two new amazing hotel products. One is called Silversands Grenada, on the beautiful Grand Anse Beach, the best beach in the Caribbean. The hotel is officially opening later this year. It is a beautiful high-end luxury property. We are also getting the Kimpton on the same beach, a year later, called Kimpton Kawana Bay. With these two brand-new hotel products coming on stream and airlift coming in, from the United States and London, we believe that the combination will grow the market tremendously,” the CEO pointed out.

Grenada is also interested in the MICE sector, especially in small groups. “We don’t have big massive chain hotels in Grenada. Our hotels are more family-oriented boutique properties. We do have Radisson Grenada Resort, which is our convention hotel. We can grow the MICE product if you are looking for smaller groups because our largest hotels are like 220-250 rooms. We are looking to attract small groups that want that individual personalized experience, pure luxury market.”