A recent article on BBC Caribbean said that Caribbean tourism is under threat. The article explained that with the world becoming more accessible each day, new more exotic destinations are available to more travelers and the Caribbean Islands sea, sun and sand package just may not cut it anymore.
The article read…
First there are new emerging destinations that offer the same tropical experience. They are also much closer to the European and American markets which the region is heavily dependent on. This means that the islands can no longer depent on the traditional sun, sea and sand package to attract visitors, and they are now looking to diversify their individual products.”
The article mentioned that islands like Barbados are improving their standards and Jamaica is embarking on health traveling.
WIV4 News Online spoke with Kayla Lightbourne from the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board to find out what they’re doing to ensure that visitors continue to arrive on the shore of the TCI.
We are diversifying the tourism product.” Lightbourne says. “Offering eco-tours; The National Trust just opened a bird tour on Little Water Cay and they have trails on North and Middle Caicos. All of that is about developing the product.”
Lightbourne also said that the TCI Tourist Board would be introducing an online forum where first time visitors can interact with travelers who have been to the Turks and Caicos Islands or transplants who currently live in the country to “read about people’s experiences.”
Lightbourne said there have been talks with a Russian tour company to include the Turks and Caicos on their Caribbean tour agenda, traveling to our islands from the Dominican Republic.
The Tourist Board also plans to improve on the standards of service in the Turks and Caicos by offering hospitality training, Lightbourne said.
Turks and Caicos is still fairly new so what we will need in order to set ourselves aside from everyone else is gonna be our service. We have a great tourism product but it’s delivering the product. We want the service [in the Turks and Caicos] to exceed expectations.”
The BBC article also mentioned climate change as another major factor in the forewarned slide in Caribbean tourism. The article features a quote by St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of state for Tourism, Ricky Skerrit that reads…
“In the Caribbean we stand to hurt the most because we are smaill islands and changes in the environment hurt island ecology in a very dramatic way.”
This information is quite timely due to discussions on climate change and environmental health and preservation that took place at Provo’s Beaches during the Fostering a Green Culture Environmental Conference.
Visit BBC Caribbean to read the full story.
~Bobbi Misick
Filed under: REGIONAL NEWS | Tagged: Caribbean Tourism, Tourism Industry, Turks and Caicos, Turks and Caicos Tourist Board
