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State
of
Industry
Caribbean
rebounding
the
February 2013 ISSUE:
Highlights:
tourism
State of the Industry
STC theme announced
CTO recognises former CHTA CEO
CTO members to benefit from Livemocha
Applications for scholarships & grants
Caribbean tourism is bouncing back to prerecession levels, with visitors from Canada The Caribbean at ITB Berlin
and the U.S. giving a boost to tourist
arrivals.
Crisis communications seminar in
Dominica
The Caribbean welcomed 25 million
tourists last year, a near 5.5 per cent rise Read all about it
over 2011, outpacing the rest of the world,
which saw arrivals increase by four per Claude Clarke leaves CTO
cent.
According to CTO
Chairman and the
US Virgin Islands
Commission
of
Tourism
Beverly
Nicholson-Doty in
the State of the
Industry
report, region saw
its largest number
of stayover visitors
in five years, with
overall hotel occupancy for the region
increasing by more than seven per cent and
total room revenues up nearly nine per
cent. This, the CTO chairman said, gives
the sector reason to be optimistic.
“This optimism is based on the positive
signs of growth following earlier down
years. We are optimistic because we see
arrival numbers rising, particularly out of
North America; we see hotel revenues
CTO TV
Participants attending the crisis
communications/management seminar in
Dominica, facilitated by CTO's Johnson
JohnRose, give feedback. Click on the
photo below to hear what they said
moving in the right direction, albeit with
moderate acceleration and we see tourist
spend on the increase.
“All the signs suggest Caribbean tourism is
rallying. The region as a whole has
regained ground lost in the heat of the
global economic depression in 2008/2009.”
She said.
The CTO chairman added that tourists also
spent more than US$27 billion in the
region, a more than three per cent rise
when compared to 2011.
See the complete State of the Industry
Report at www.onecaribbean.org.
Product, partnership
and profitability get
attention
at
CTO
sustainable
conference
~HOT DATES~
Sustainable Tourism Conference
Trinidad & Tobago -15th to 18 April 2013
Tourism Investment Conference
Trinidad & Tobago - 7 to 9 May 2013
State of the Industry Conference
Martinique - 16 to 18 October, 2013
Delegates
attending
the
region’s premier
gathering
on
sustainable
tourism will delve
into some areas
that impact their
bottom
line.
The CTO’s 14th
Sustainable
Tourism Conference (STC-14) will focus
on how to develop partnerships that result
in an innovative, profitable and sustainable
product.
Scheduled to be held from 15 to 18 April at
the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain,
Trinidad & Tobago, STC-14 will explore
ways the Caribbean can enhance
destination
sustainability
and
competitiveness in the current global
environment by examining a number of
critical issues. These include enriching
visitor experiences beyond stereotypical
urban and rural tourism products;
intelligent destination branding and
marketing designed to showcase these
experiences; engaging and partnering with
key destination stakeholders for successful
destination planning and management;
increasing year-round visitor spend on
local goods and services; and learning from
Trinidad's tourism
minister welcomes
you to STC14
winning destinations’ good practice models
in tourism sustainability.
“As the world slowly embraces new
models
of
economic
development,
including green and blue economies,
Caribbean destinations will need to find
complementary models of destination
sustainability,” said Gail Henry, the CTO’s
sustainable tourism product specialist.
“Greater attention to how our destinations
are planned, managed and marketed will
also be critical for positioning the
Caribbean as the most desirable, yearround warm weather destination by 2017,”
Ms. Henry added in a reference to the
Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)’s
new vision.
It is for these reasons, she said, that the
CTO has chosen as its theme, Keeping the
Right Balance: Enhancing Destination
Sustainability
through
Products,
Partnerships, Profitability.
For information on STC-14, including how
to
register,
please
visit
www.caribbeanstc.com.
Former CHTA DG &
CEO recognised by
CTO
for
his
contribution
to
Caribbean tourism
Alec Sanguinetti
retired last month
as director general
and CEO of the
Caribbean Hotel
and
Tourism
Association.
This after 19 years in executive positions
with the organization and 52 years as one
of the tourism industry's top airline and
hotel executives.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization, in
recognition and appreciation for his
outstanding
service
and
sterling
contribution to Caribbean tourism,
presented an Award of Appreciation to the
retiring CEO.
This presentation was made at the meeting
of the Council of Ministers and
Commissioners of Tourism in Bahamas.
Learn
another
Quick Links:
Latest Tourism Statistics
Join CTO
Hospitality Assured
About CTO...
language free
The Caribbean Tourism Organization's exists
to increase significantly the inclusion of the
Caribbean region in the set of destinations
being considered by travellers. CTO's
envisions the global recognition of the
Caribbean as a growing set of places and
experiences that people feel compelled to
enjoy in their lifetime.
READ MORE..
The CTO is pleased to provide its members
with the opportunity to learn up to 38
launguages at no cost to the members. CTO
is teaming with Livemocha, the world’s
largest
online
language
learning
community, to provide its members with
this free service for another year.
The programme runs from February 1,
2013 to January 31, 2014. It allows you to
learn another language at your own pace,
including the opportunity to practice with
native
speakers.
For more information on this exciting
opporunity, including how to register, visit
www.onecaribbean.org.
CTO
Foundation
accepting
applications
scholarship
grants
for
and
The region’s tourism development agency,
through its scholarship programme, the
CTO Foundation, is awarding scholarships
of up to US$12,000 to individuals wanting
to study tourism or hospitality at the
Master’s (post graduate) level, and
language training for persons already
working in the tourism sector.
In addition, the CTO Foundation is offering
study grants of up to US$2,500 to
individuals pursing tourism/hospitality
studies at the certificate, diploma, associate
degree or first degree level. Studies can be
pursued both within and outside the
Caribbean region.
“The Foundation selects individuals who
demonstrate high levels of achievement
and leadership both within and outside the
classroom and who express a strong
interest in making a positive contribution to
Caribbean tourism,” said Bonita Morgan,
CTO’s director of regional human resource
development.
The CTO Foundation also offers a
scholarship of up to US$2,500 in the name
of Arley Sobers, CTO’s former director of
research
and
information
management. Mr. Sobers, who passed
away in an untimely manner in 2008,
dedicated over two decades of his working
life in the service of the Caribbean Tourism
Organization. This scholarship is for
persons working in local tourism
organizations such as the ministry of
tourism or the board of tourism, who wish
to strengthen their skills in the areas of
research and statistics.
A scholarship of up to US$7,500 is also
being offered in the name of the late
Audrey Palmer Hawks, the past director
general of the Caribbean Tourism
Association, which eventually merged in
1989 with the Caribbean Tourism Research
and Development Centre to form the CTO.
Mrs. Hawks was responsible for marketing
the Caribbean region as a tourist attraction
to travellers in the United States and
Canada.
And for Caribbean nationals wishing to
pursue a bachelor’s degree programme in
Hospitality/ Tourism Management, the
Foundation offers scholarships for full-time
study at Monroe College in New York
(www.Monroecollege.edu), at its campus
in Saint Lucia, or for the college’s online
course. This scholarships are for first time
students only.
This offer comes as a result of a
Memorandum of Understanding signed
between Monroe College and the CTO in
2011. The MOU established a three year
agreement for scholarships and study
grants to support students from the
Caribbean
to
advance
their
tourism/hospitality education at Monroe
College. Scholarship awards will range
from US$4,500.00 to US$18,660.00
annually, equally distributed over three
semester. The funds are to offset student
tuition expenses at Monroe College.
The deadline for receipt of applications for
all schoarhips and grants is 15 April, 2013.
More than 190 Caribbean nationals have
benefitted from the CTO scholarship and
grants programme to the tune of over
US$760,000 since the CTO Foundation
was founded in 1997.
For
more
information,
www.onecaribbean.org
visit
The Caribbean takes
on the world at ITB
The Caribbean
will make its
presence felt at
the
world’s
leading travel
trade show, ITB
Berlin, with 18
countries
exhibiting in the popular Hall 3.1 this
year. Nine CTO member countries will
exhibit in the Caribbean Village area –
Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire,
British Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia, St.
Maarten, St Martin, Suriname – joined by
private
sector
partners:
Advantage
Management Group, Jolly Beach, Canouan
Islands Resort & Spa, Antigua, Belize
Hotel Association,
LIAT Airlines,
Guyana’s Wilderness Explorers, Virgin
Atlantic
Airlines and
Wildlife
Expeditions/Karibikreisen, Grenada.
In addition, nine Caribbean countries will
be on display in the surrounding area Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican
Republic,
Guadeloupe,
Jamaica,
Martinique, Trinidad & Tobago and
Venezuela.
The Caribbean Village central area and bar
will be sponsored for the 5th year running
by one of the major German tour operators,
Dertour/Meier’s Weltreisen. This year, the
Caribbean Media Awards Ceremony will
be hosted in the central area where CTO
and its partners will have the opportunity to
network with over 40 journalists.
Once again, the CTO will bring visiting
directors of tourism and heads of marketing
in Europe up to date on the German
market, including new services to the
Caribbean, by hosting the annual Directors
Update. Visiting delegates will also get the
opportunity to meet with representatives of
the regional carrier, LIAT. The popular
Caribbean Village area also allows
Caribbean partners to meet and entertain
their clients over a Caribbean drink and
food, while Caribbean entertainment will
be provided to the general public over the
weekend.
ITB Berlin attracts more than 170,000
visitors - 113,000 trade visitors and 11,000
represented companies from 180 countries
- and is the leading Business to Business
platform for all tourism industry decision
makers to meet and discuss new business,
trends and developments in the travel trade
industry.
CTO
helps
Dominica's tourism
prepare for crises
The
CTO
continues
to
help enhance its
members’
communication
s
capacity,
particularly in
crisis situations
– while at the same time providing
additional services to its member countries.
The region’s tourism development agency
conducted
a
five-day
crisis
communications/management seminar in
Dominica at the invitation of the ministry
of tourism.
Facilitated by the CTO’s communications
specialist, Johnson JohnRose, the interactive seminar covered a series of
important areas, including the production
of a handbook of protocols on how to
respond to various crises.
Participants included senior officials from
the ministry of tourism, Discover Dominica
(the marketing arm of the ministry of
tourism), the fire service, the police, the
country’s main hospital, the ministry of
legal affairs, the Air and Sea Port
Authority, the National Emergency
Planning Organization, the Dominica Hotel
& Tourism Association, among others.
Mr. JohnRose also facilitated discussion
between the industry and local media on
the coverage of crises.
CTO member countries wishing to take
advantage of this important service being
offered by the CTO are asked to contact
Mr.
JohnRose
at
jjohnrose@caribtourism.com.
For feedback on the Dominica seminar,
please see CTO TV on the panel on the
right hand side of this newsletter.
Read all about it
The CTO is
once
again
honouring the
people
who
help tell the
Caribbean story
in the most
interesting, compelling and entertaining
manner. CTO has announced the upcoming
Caribbean Week New York 2013 Media
Awards programme. The winners will be
announced, and the awards presented, at
the Caribbean Media Awards Luncheon on
Thursday, June 6, 2013. To honour the
media’s exceptional work in promoting the
Caribbean, we are also soliciting
submissions from the media and member
countries. The awards will celebrate the
best in feature print, broadcast and online
placements as well as photography from
International, US and Caribbean-based
media that captured the essence of the
Caribbean in 2012. Awards will be
presented in 10 categories. For a list of the
awards categories, as well as the
submission guidelines, criteria and judging
process, please visit www.onecaribbean.org
Thanks, Claude, for
excellent
service
For well over
seven
years,
Claude Clarke
has
provided
excellent,
friendly
and
efficient service
to the CTO and
its
members.
Claude joined
the CTO family
in
mid-2005
and as an office
assistant
and
has carried out his function with grace and
humility. After seven and a half years, he
leaves us for a greater calling. Claude is
now a reverend and has answered the call
to ministry. The CTO thanks Claude for his
excellent contribution to the sector. We
also congratulate him on becoming a
reverend and wish him the very best.
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