Submitted by Looking Glass
Caribbean Week in New York, June 8-12, 2009
At a time when the global recession is wreaking havoc with Caribbean tourism and visitor arrivals are down, when hotel occupancy levels are at an all time record low and industry staff and workers are being laid off through out the region, we could not help but notice that one of the events scheduled for Caribbean Week in New York, June 8 -12 is the 36th Annual Governments of the Caribbean State Ball Reasons for staging this activity, which is held under the auspices of the CTO Foundation, are to raise funds for providing scholarships to Caribbean nationals. This is a noble gesture and CTO is to be complimented for its efforts. However, at a time when the livelihoods of many people in the tourism industry are being affected by the global financial crisis, the question arises as to whether CTO’s governing body gave consideration to postponing this event, as they did with the Sustainable Tourism Conference to 2010, and utilizing other means to source revenues.
Surely transferring funds from one of its EU Lome programs should not pose a major challenge. A table at the Caribbean State Ball costs US$5000.00, individual tickets are priced at US$550.00. When these amounts, along with the high hotel room rates in Washington and New York, plus the daily unaccountable US subsistence and transportation allowances for each government delegation attending Caribbean Week are tallied up, one wonders if this is a case of a privilege few enjoying the benefits of the tourism industry at the expense of many. This brings back memories of the presidents of the US automobile companies arriving in their private jets for meetings with the US Congress at a time when their respective organizations were seeking financial aid.
Imagine representatives from the Caribbean private and public sectors meeting with USAID officials at the Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit in Washington, DC, June 9-10 to identify sources of funding for tourism projects and then having the audacity to attend the Gala State Ball in New York. Who is fooling whom?? To be quite candid, this pathetic situation raises several queries about the current CTO structure, its usefulness, its role and the need for such an organization in the 21st century. Known for its ability in hosting conferences, gala balls, and other social events, for arranging PR briefings, photo opportunities, and town hall meetings with the Caribbean Diaspora, CTO as a tourism consultant has however failed miserably in producing a constructive solution for solving the region’s most pressing problem – – AIRLIFT (more about airlift later).
Within the last decade numerous airline committees were organized and meetings conducted under CTO’s guidance to discuss this issue but we are still waiting for the big decision to be formulated. Let’s face it, tourism in the Caribbean is a dog eat dog situation and surely no one expects any minister to allow his/her fellow colleague to gain the upper hand in bringing tourists to their respective destinations by investing in or supporting an airline. The logistics and numbers simply do not add up and in many cases some destinations prefer to go it alone. In short, these meetings serve no real purpose except to show CTO convened and hosted an event.In addition to this challenge, CTO seems unable to quell the growing concerns about the direction in which the region’s tourism is headed.
This organization has yet to offer recommendations or launch a marketing program to generate visitor traffic during the economic crisis. It continues to function as if the Caribbean has not been affected by the global meltdown. Were it not for Jamaica’s dynamic Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and Jamaica’s – “Once you go, you know” TV commercial campaign, the region’s tourism industry could have been worse. Thanks to Jamaica’s aggressive promotion efforts, the Caribbean Brand has been kept visible in front of the consumer and trade throughout this difficult period. CTO should take lessons from this minister in marketing the Caribbean. CTO’s mission statement stipulates “ it will create and manage the partnerships necessary to increase the purchase of travel to and within the Caribbean that results in sustainable economic benefits for our people” but this appears to be changing. Contrary to its projected public image, rumour has it all is not well with CTO and some of its partners.
One such situation involves the CTO Chapters (refer the“ CTO Story”- one Caribbean.org) If the truth were told, there is a growing disconnect between these two bodies. What was once an effective travel agent mechanism for generating visitor traffic to the Caribbean is becoming history. Thanks to the political ideologies within the CTO camp, the renowned CTO Chapter network which played a leading role in the travel industry in creating an awareness of the Caribbean in cities across the US and Canada is quietly being dismantled. Not aware if CTO’s current governing body has ever been briefed on this matter, but the innovative CTO Canadian Chapters in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver, were disbanded without explanation to their respective chapter members. At one time there were 44 chapters worldwide – 27 in the US, 6 in Canada, 7 in the Caribbean, 3 in Europe and 1 in Australia, functioning unpaid on CTO’s behalf. Today, the network comprises approximately some 25 chapters – a mere 22 in the US, 0 in Canada, 2 in Europe, and maybe 1 in the Caribbean.
Perhaps it is time the reasons behind the demise of the Chapters be made public.CTO’s philosophy on staffing posts in overseas offices with nationals from member states also looks like it is passé. One only has to look at Canada to see what is happening. There are no Caribbean nationals in senior positions in this office. This is definitely not due to the lack of qualified candidates. There are several individuals highly skilled in the tourism discipline that could manage this operation. Somehow the CTO administration appears to have conveniently overlooked this resource. The governing CTO body will soon announce appointments to fill the vacant posts of Secretary General, Director, Research and Information Management and Director, Finance and Resources. With these new senior management officers about to join CTO, perhaps the organization should review its operation to ensure its mandate and mission are not being compromised and that it is capable of handling growing industry challenges – today and in the future.
If CTO is to operate as a business concern and benefit the region’s tourism community, it must remove itself from the political theatre.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.