Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
For sustainability, tourism marketing plans should have social, economic and cultural resonance at their core – UN Ambassador, Liz Thompson
Barbados’ Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Elizabeth Thompson
News
September 3, 2019

For sustainability, tourism marketing plans should have social, economic and cultural resonance at their core – UN Ambassador, Liz Thompson

Getting tourists to our destinations in the Caribbean is only part of the equation says Barbados’ Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Elizabeth Thompson.

“…but are we placing social, economic and cultural resonance at the core of the tourism marketing plans and ultimately our sustainability and success?”

That question was asked by Thompson on August 29 at the 2019 Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism (STC2019) which was held under the theme “Keeping the Right Balance: Tourism Development in an Era of Diversification.”

Thompson said that in the region, we are proceeding on the premise that there will always be a Caribbean tourism product, but that may not always be the case.

“…May I remind you that ‘for everything there is a season and a time’. Banana and sugar exports had their time and season.

“There was a period when our forefathers could not have imagined our economies without these agricultural goods. Let us learn from their experience and seek to develop tourism products that are truly sustainable and are more community and culturally oriented,” Thompson told the gathering at the Beachcombers hotel.

Thompson, a former Minister of Government in Barbados who in 2008, was honoured with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s prestigious Champion of the Earth Award for her work in climate change and environment, noted that the World Travel and Tourism Council says that at the moment, there are five global megatrends which are impacting tourism.

Consumption: reimagined; Power: distributed (politically from West to East); Data: revolutionized; Life: restructured; and Reality: enhanced.

Addressing “Consumption Reimagined”, Thompson said that we are living in an era where our actions and choices can impact the planet’s natural environment and climate and as a result there is a push to “go green,” to reduce our carbon footprint, by adjusting our consumption patterns and lifestyles.

She said that this has consequences for travel which may include shorter trips, trips in one’s home region or closer to home, travel that can be done by transport that does not use fossil fuels, taxes to offset carbon emissions, and has given rise to a more environmentally sensitive visitor who is interested in the sustainability practices of a hotel or a destination.

She said that this way of thinking affects the Caribbean tourism product, its price, accessibility and sustainability, in a region where environmental considerations do not underpin hotel operations, are not seen as a source of cost containment, nor as a powerful attractant for visitors.

While she noted that with “Power Distributed”, we are witnessing geopolitical shifts; and friends from the West are not behaving as we have been accustomed and this may affect the sustainability of how we market, to whom we market and who constitutes our market.

Thompson also noted that data and technology are redefining the tourism business.

“Into the word data, I am going to interpose the word technology, which is restructuring jobs and the job market. The first to be impacted were travel agents. Then check-in agents. Then immigration agents. The availability of data on sites such as Yelp and social media platforms serves to point the tourist toward one destination over another and inform visitor choices,” said Thompson.

She said that we can fully expect further and radical industry changes from technology, automation and artificial intelligence and some of the changes have already started.

“What is the level of preparedness of the region in seeing and seizing the new opportunities and preparing for the changes ahead?” she questioned.

Going on, Thompson said that the definition of success in tourism is numbers driven, not value driven and at the base of the marketing effort is an increase in tourism arrivals.

“It appears to me, as a non-tourism specialist, that counting arrivals takes precedence over counting and increasing per capita visitor spend. Caribbean countries are small, fragile ecosystems. We are for the most part, extremely water scarce or water stressed,” said Thompson.

She added that with this in mind, it must be noted that there is a limit to the number of bodies and foot falls that we can have at a beach, in a cave, at a waterfall or at an attraction on any single day, before the pressure on that ecosystem becomes unsustainable.

“In some instances, over-tourism and ecosystem fatigue are evident at some locations and in some countries,” she said.

“I have been raising this issue of the carrying capacity of the ecosystems, infrastructures and services of the islands, including the generation and disposal of waste,” Thompson said while asking, “How do we price our product against the reality, not of increasing the numbers, but respecting the carrying capacity of the islands, while trying to increase visitor spend?

She said that carrying capacity and sustainability are closely linked and it is toward this objective that we should be collecting and collating data for planning purposes.

Thompson added also that we should be pursuing things like a Caribbean game, or online competition based on our natural environment, festivals, heritage and important sites, similar to the popular “Farmville” game.

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    Domestic worker killed at Long Wall
    Front Page
    Domestic worker killed at Long Wall
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    FAMILY MEMBERS of a woman who was killed at Long Wall say they suspect their relative was hacked by a person they all know very well. On Tuesday, Sept...
    NDP never built a single house in SVG – Finance Minister
    Front Page
    NDP never built a single house in SVG – Finance Minister
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    THE IDEA THAT HOUSING is a right, that every Vincentian has a right to safe and secure housing, and that the government has a role to play in ensuring...
    No bail for Police officer charged with attempted murder
    Front Page
    No bail for Police officer charged with attempted murder
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    A POLICE OFFICER, who allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend 26 times about her body was remanded even as his lawyer argued that the Royal St Vincent and...
    New ULP Administration will roll out AI policy
    Front Page
    New ULP Administration will roll out AI policy
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    A NEW UNITY LABOUR PARTY ADMINISTRATION will be rolling out an Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy to embrace its positives and guard against the nega...
    Sandy Bay Secondary School marks 20th Anniversary
    Front Page
    Sandy Bay Secondary School marks 20th Anniversary
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 9,2025 was a memorable day for the staff and students of the Sandy Bay Secondary School, which was marking its 20th anniversary wi...
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    News
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    THE ASHLEY LASHLEY Foundation, with support from the United States Government, is implementing a local-level project entitled “Community-Driven Strate...
    News
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    News
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    THE ASHLEY LASHLEY Foundation, with support from the United States Government, is implementing a local-level project entitled “Community-Driven Strate...
    Skills not available locally, non-nationals have to be hired says Finance Minister
    News
    Skills not available locally, non-nationals have to be hired says Finance Minister
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    NON- NATIONALS ARE being hired to fill several jobs in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) simply because locals did not have the required skill sets....
    Montgomery Daniel squashes rumours that he’s sick
    News
    Montgomery Daniel squashes rumours that he’s sick
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Montgomery Daniel has sought to clear around rumours that have been circulating relating to his health. Speaking on NBC radio on...
    $1.3 billion in Tourism investment to yield 2,000 jobs – Camillo
    News
    $1.3 billion in Tourism investment to yield 2,000 jobs – Camillo
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    The GOVERNMENT of St Vincent and the Grenadines is set to sign agreements for tourism investment of $1.3 billion on mainland St.Vincent. On Monday, Se...
    Bagga’ man pleads guilty to illegal gun, ammo possession
    From the Courts, News
    Bagga’ man pleads guilty to illegal gun, ammo possession
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    A BARROUALLIE MAN will be sentenced next week after pleading guilty to being in illegal possession of a firearm and eight rounds of ammunition. Demron...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok