Caribbean Investment Conference Attendees Discussed Optimistic Recovery for Region
Caribbean Investment Conference Attendees Discussed Optimistic Recovery for Region
The just-completed “Official” Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) resulted in a variety of general session discussions in which optimism for the recovery of the hospitality and tourism industries was the reigning mood of the week.
Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) President Josef Forstmayr took the opportunity to remind attendees of the huge importance that tourism plays in the overall economic stability of the Caribbean nations and about the Tourism is Key campaign launched by CHTA a year ago to create greater awareness of the impact of tourism on the local economies across the region.
Forstmayr said: “A successful tourism development program requires several factors. Most prominent among these are investment, product development and promotions. Caribbean tourism leaders must come together to attract the necessary investments which will be needed to allow the Caribbean to maintain its attractiveness and visibility in a highly competitive industry.”
Forstmayr noted that “air lift is one of the top three items on developers' lists when researching investment opportunities. Affordable air service remains one of our biggest challenges.
“I am strongly urging all our Caribbean governments to accept this premise. NOT accepting this clear message will simply lead to no new investors coming to the region, present investments will dry up and go bust, and existing industry will continue to under-perform.
It is time that all our Caribbean governments and the entire private sector get off our collective butts and work together to get over this hurdle. We are ready for this and we are challenging our governments to join us at CHTA.”
Hugh Riley, Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization noted that “the entire region is replete with examples of local and regional entrepreneurs who have seized the opportunity to sit at the controls of their own destiny.....Nothing builds confidence in the marketplace like seeing locals put their money where their mouth is.”
He added: “It is our wish that collaboration in the airline industry within the Caribbean will eventually result in strong, stable, reliable, affordable, and yes, profitable, air service throughout this region.”
Jamaica Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett talked about a new post-recession era for the Caribbean suggesting “What was good for the pre-recession cannot cut it for the post-recession. We have the talent, the resorts, the scenery, the energy and the intellect here to create a blueprint for a new Caribbean.”
While the continued softer than expected global economies have been blamed for the slower than expected turnaround in the travel industry, several experts from a wide variety of disciplines expressed continued optimism about future investments and growth in the Caribbean.
As for capital influx, most of the delegates' interests were turned towards Dr. Adam Wu, Chief Operator Officer, China Business Network, and his projections of both investments and tourists from China.
The final session focused on the shared ownership industry lead by David Callaghan, Vice President, Resort Sales & Service, Interval International, who along with Richard Corso, CEO of Royal Resorts Caribbean, and Jay DiGiulio, President of Boutique Club International, represent some of the strongest brands in the timeshare, fractional, condo, private residence club and mixed-use resort products.
All of them expressed strong optimism, especially because of the resiliency of the vacation ownership market where owners return to their destination or exchange for another Caribbean destination each year because of they have already paid for the accommodations.
They also dispelled the myth that a hotel had to have hundreds of rooms to be successful as a timeshare resort and also suggested that the all-inclusive market was ripe for a greater share of the vacation ownership market.
