Pure Grenada: Q & A with Patricia Maher, CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority

At the recently-concluded edition of the State of the Travel Industry Conference (SOTIC) in Grenada, Caribbean News Digital sat down with Patricia Maher, CEO of the island nation’s Tourism Authority. In this exclusive interview, this is what Mrs. Maher had to say.

What does SOTIC mean to Grenada? Is it a challenge?

SOTIC is an opportunity for Grenada because, first of all, we need to let the world know that Grenada exists. We’re a small island in the southeastern Caribbean and a lot of people don’t know about Grenada because we happen to share the name with Granada in Spain and there is even a Grenada in Mississippi, there are several Grenadas around the world.

For that reason, it’s very important that we actually stand out as Pure Grenada in the Caribbean. The reason why we market the destination that way is because we want to make sure people understand what Grenada is and “pure” tells us that it’s authentic, unspoiled, it’s a pure real Caribbean destination.

We are famous for our spices. That makes us very unique in the Caribbean because we have all different spices, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and our neighbor islands don’t.

Hosting SOTIC 2017 was absolute honor to be chosen because international media is here, international trade is here, leading tourism experts and companies are here; so the spotlight is on Grenada.

We are very grateful that the CTO confirmed Grenada this year, especially in light of what just happened in the northern Caribbean with the hurricanes in September. We’re very grateful to have this opportunity.

You had a really bad experience with hurricane Ivan in 2004. Hurricanes don’t usually come here.

We’re below the hurricane belt. Grenada is 12 degrees north and when those hurricanes form in the Atlantic and come across the Atlantic Ocean, they generally tend to go north. Prior to Ivan in 2004, Grenada hadn’t seen a hurricane in over 55 years. We are lucky to be in the southern Caribbean.

This SOTIC edition was very special because the region was called One Sea, One Voice. Grenada has been helping the neighboring island that were affected by the hurricanes.

Absolutely. The people of Grenada have been pouring out supplies for the neighboring islands that were impacted by hurricanes: water, baby supplies, clothing, everything that’s needed after a disaster like that. Most importantly, they’ve been pouring out the funds to support.

We are a small island, a developing nation in the Caribbean, and our government has donated over 600 thousand dollars towards hurricane relief efforts. I’m not taking into account what the private sector in Grenada is doing to help our north neighbors.

You recently said that you are not competitors in the Caribbean. What can me make of that?

I love that One Caribbean brand. In light of what has just happened in the region, we are here to support each other. We talk about our brothers and sisters in Dominica, in B.V.I., in Anguilla. It is One Caribbean for sure and disasters like this bring us even closer together. For that, we are stronger and hopefully also smarter.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization is a public-sector organization with government representatives across the region. It is a very important body to bring us all together and to create those synergies in the region.

While we are one Caribbean, we’re also very diverse. Some islands have mountains, some are coral islands, we are geographically diverse. People are very diverse. The beauty of the Caribbean Tourism Organization is that they bring that diversity together under one umbrella and we work to promote the region.

The CHTA is a private-sector organization that really works for all the member hotels in the region. Not only hotels, but also attractions and tourism interests in the private sector are supported by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.

This partnership between public and private sectors is so important for our future growth and development.

What’s Grenada’s top outbound market?

Around 46 percent of our visitors come from the United States of America. The U.K. comes second and then we have Canada and Europe.

As for Europe, I understand its variety, the expanse of Europe. We have been traditionally focused on Germany as a market. The Germans love Grenada because of the nature and variety here. We also have direct airlift with Condor from Frankfort. That’s a winter flight season from November through April, but we are looking forward to extending that all year round.

I think Grenada is attractive to every European citizen who wants to escape from modern stressed life and have experiences in an authentic Caribbean destination.

What are your plans for 2018 to promote Grenada in other European regions?

First of all, we are attending WTM. That’s a signature event in London. We are also attending ITB Berlin because that is a very large tourism conference. We’re be there in March because we want to reach out to Spain, France, Italy, all different countries in Europe and share, communicate and promote this destination.

Has the U.K. market been affected by Brexit?          

Yes, it has. Not in every Caribbean market, but Grenada has felt it. That’s the only market we have down now, the rest are up, some in double digits. Brexit is having an impact on us and it makes us more aware of the need to diversify markets. We are looking at, not just the original source market, which would be primarily London and southern England, but the rest of the U.K.