Tourism Linkages Objective

To present key global and Caribbean tourism trends with a focus on increasing competitiveness and linkages for inclusive growth

Key messages

Tourism is everybody’s business. Tourism demand generates demand for services all across an economy. As tourism grows, so does demand for everything from local food and beverages, fuel, cleaning supplies and services, printing supplies, and local transportation.

Regional Integration, especially on marketing and air transport, is essential for increased tourism competitiveness in the Caribbean. For most of the Caribbean countries, regional integration is key to success in tourism development and marketing. While more people are traveling globally, competition is increasing, especially among island destinations. The Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles have all been growing rapidly, in part thanks to more regional cooperation, and are becoming destinations of choice for Caribbean target markets such as the UK.

Tourism planning and development must be done in close cooperation with local communities. Ultimately, tourism development is essentially local, thus affecting the communities in and around the destinations. Tourism product offers are more attractive, appealing and sustainable when closely developed in cooperation with local communities. The Four Seasons in Barbados, for example, is emphasizing from the beginning local sourcing of employment, supplies and services.

Key take-aways from participants’ interaction

Tourism depends on local communities and culture. Chris Blackwell, for example, emphasized that much of the success with his hotels is due to the hospitality of the Jamaican people. George Vincent, Minister of Tourism for Grenada, emphasized the importance of involving visitors in local offers such as agro-tourism.

Tourism depends on the environment and preserving environmental quality. One participant noted that the yachting market, which of course depends almost entirely on high environmental quality, is a highly lucrative sector that should take more priority for tourism markets in the Caribbean. By focusing more on this sector, the tourism profile and contributions to each country’s economy can be increased substantially.

Tourism is “the” main path of economic development for the Caribbean. Globally, tourism is among the world’s top five industries, but in the Caribbean, it dominates the economy with almost 14% of GDP coming directly and indirectly from tourism. The Caribbean ranks 1st in the world with the highest total contribution of tourism to GDP. The Caribbean also ranks first on visitor exports, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.