Keep tourism on top of political agenda, urges CHA chief

Wednesday, December 31, 2003

BRIDGETOWN, (Barbados: Simón Suárez, president of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), welcomed the "very healthy maturation process" of the relationship between the media and Caribbean tourism, "thanks to CMEx," as he addressed the Fifth Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx) at the Almond Beach Village Resort in Barbados earlier this month.

Describing tourism as "in most cases… the only means to achieving the necessary economic growth for our continued existence and future prosperity," he asked participants to help ensure that "as with sugar and bananas in the past, tourism is at the top of every political agenda in the future."

He projected that on current growth rates, over the next decade the region's tourism industry will grow from US$34.6 billion to $78.4 billion, and employment in the sector will grow from 1.8 million to 2.9 million jobs, but he sounded a warning. CARICOM destinations are pricing themselves out of the market, and he said, "we do…on occasions, wonder why it is that so little attention is paid to the many opportunities that a vibrant and successful tourism industry could bring."

To ensure the competitiveness of land based tourism, Suárez welcomed proposals for a US$20 head tax on arriving cruise passengers. And to promote investment, governments should look at the tax structure for tourism, which they should view as an export industry. 

He also proposed a Tourism Investment Fund to harness regional capital and make it available for the industry, while calling on the smaller local based businesses to join with the CHA in collectively promoting themselves in the face of the challenge from vertically integrated international travel and tourism operations.

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