Sports Tourism is Good for the Caribbean

While the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup may have helped economic expansion, boosted infrastructure investment and furthered functional cooperation across the region, many in the tourism circles did not reap the kind of dividends they expected from the sporting spectacle because of the unexpected early defeat and exit of major cricketing nations such as India and Pakistan and the absence of traditional winter visitors, many of whom who chose to stay away from the Caribbean during the Cup’s staging.

Nevertheless, the Caribbean has been left with an awesome opportunity to market state-of-the-art sporting facilities to a booming international sports tourism community during the cricket season and beyond if we are to capitalize on the millions of dollars that have been invested in them.

Carole Beckford, writing in the Jamaica press, said international bodies have long realized the value of sport to tourism and the money it can take into developing countries.

“Jamaica should therefore decide to host major sporting events in the future only on the following bases: To ensure the continuing economic and lifestyle values for local communities. The importance of building both quality and sustainability standards to meet all patrons’ expectations and to make use of current facilities and infrastructure.”

The St Lucia Tourist Board (SLTB) and more recently the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) have made some major inroads into tapping into the expatriate markets of cricketing playing nations living in North America by wooing them to come to the Caribbean.

Before the Cricket World Cup last year, the SLTB, along with Cricket World Cup St Lucia Inc, hit the road to tap West Indians, Kenyans and New Zealanders living in North America to entice them to visit the Caribbean for cricket.