Cooperation Is Key to Weathering Q1 Decline, Says CTO Chief

Visitor arrivals in the Caribbean in the first quarter will decline between 20 percent and 35 percent depending upon the destination, according to Harold Lovell, chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization and minister of tourism for Antigua and Barbuda.

“Based on the reports that we have been getting, we know that the winter season is a challenge, one that requires tremendous ingenuity and skill to take us through this difficult period,” Lovell said.

The CTO is advocating a number of approaches to deal with the situation, including collaboration at the national level among “all the players who will be impacted by this crisis,” Lovell said. “There is a great sense of urgency, and we must find ways to work with and help each other.”

The CTO is urging all suppliers to examine the credit lines that are available “to throw lifelines to the hotel sector,” Lovell said. “Banks and insurance companies must work together to forestall foreclosures and to keep open the money supply to investors and developers.

“What is most important is to maintain job levels. We must stabilize the economic situation and minimize job losses.”

To help surmount the crisis, the region must enhance its competitiveness and ensure that the quality of visitor services rendered exceeds expectations, he said. The CTO has approached both LIAT and Caribbean Airlines and requested preferential rates for travel within the region by Caribbean nationals.

“Once the details are ironed out, I think that both carriers will be convinced that this is one way to stimulate revenue from inter-island travel,” Lovell said.

Plans to launch a branding program for the region, which have been in the works for some time, must be escalated. The Caribbean Tourism Development Co., which hopes to raise $60 million for a regional campaign, is looking at a $20 million contribution from the 15 countries that make up the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM; $20 million from the 16 non-CARICOM countries; and $20 million from the cruise lines that serve the region.

In addition, the CARICOM nations and the Council of Trade & Economic Development met in Antigua last July to implement a $3 levy tacked on to airline tickets. That revenue would be funneled directly to the CTDC to implement part of the costs associated with the regional marketing and promotional campaign for the region.