Convention centre key to tourism sector

Dennis Morrison, Sunday Gleaner Columnist

Caribbean Marketplace 2011, the premier marketing event on the calendar of the Caribbean tourist industry, is taking place at the new convention centre in Montego Bay, starting today. The event brings together 32 tourist destinations in the Caribbean each January, with buyers from source markets around the world. Its staging at this venue realises the dream that conceptualisers of the convention centre expressed when the show was first held here in 2005: that Jamaica would have a state-of-the-art facility ready to host it next time around.

Over the next few days, Montego Bay, Jamaica's tourism capital, will be a buzz of activity with more than 1,100 delegates attending the trade show and raising the tempo of the social life of the city. The delegates are drawn from around the region, North America, South America, Europe, and as far away as Australia and Japan. Of note is that the number of buyers registered to attend - more than 120 - surpasses last year's figures, a sign of the rebound in the travel market that should encourage regional tourism interests.

pre-scheduled appointments

Supplier companies, nearly 300 in number, who have set up 11,900 pre-scheduled appointments with buyers, will present the region's widely diverse product, representing the Dutch-, English-, French- and Spanish-speaking destinations of the region. After the downturn suffered by most destinations since the second half of 2008, suppliers will be eager to realise increases in the volume of contracts for the coming year. So far, they have been helped by unusually cold weather in Europe and North America that should boost bookings for the rest of the winter season.

In recent weeks, the economic outlook for the US, by far the region's largest source market for tourists, has turned more positive with GDP growth accelerating and the pace of job creation picking up. Consumer spending has also moved up, and these signals have led to stronger sentiment about an upturn in the travel industry. After declining by nearly 3.0 per cent in 2009, US stopover visitors to the Caribbean are estimated to have gone up by more than 4.0 per cent last year. Expectations are that the uptick in the pace of US economic activity will lift American tourist traffic to the region this year.

Europe does not offer such hope, as except for Germany, that region is still struggling to throw off the effects of the recession. But buyer interest from the UK remains active, with the second-largest contingent coming from that market. The Canadian market is also continuing to be a robust source of visitors to the region, even though recent high growth rates in arrivals to Barbados, Jamaica, St Lucia, and others are not likely to be sustained in the face of more aggressive competition from Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

The Caribbean's interesting diversity, born out of the history, cultural heritage, and political background of its various societies, provides for a multi-destination tourism product offering rich visitor experiences. While collaboration in activities like Caribbean Marketplace has brought results, attempts to pursue joint marketing programmes have been spasmodic. Like other areas of economic activity discussed in last week's column, regional tourism development is being held back by policy divisiveness and lack of cohesion.

A high priority is for the region to develop deeper transportation and cross-border arrangements to overcome the challenges of geography. The introduction of the regional travel card is useful, but transport links remain weak. Business links will also have to be strengthened if the potential of multi-destination travel is to be harnessed. Local hotel chains that have spread their wings to various regional destinations are an element of the process, but even so, visitors brought to the Caribbean Basin are not moved around these destinations.

Hence, while the rates of repeat visitors to some individual destinations are high, the opportunity for increasing the rates to the region, as a whole, is being lost. Air Jamaica's hub in Montego Bay gave a glimpse of the kind of network required and should serve as a case study of the issues. The pioneering work of Caribic Vacations in multi-destination travel for European tourists visiting Jamaica and Cuba is another case, and there are others in the Eastern Caribbean.

a world-class resort

In the meantime, this first trade show at the Montego Bay Convention Centre allows our Second City to showcase its advance as a world-class resort. With new room capacity, modern infrastructure, and now a centre that provides space for 6,500 persons in its banquet hall, meeting rooms, and dedicated exhibition space, the city is more strongly positioned to cater to the meetings and conventions segment of the travel market. This has been a long-awaited addition to our tourism product and should boost Jamaica's competitive edge in the marketplace.

Much credit is due to the Urban Development Corporation, which oversaw the design and execution of the project under the former and current leadership of the corporation. Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson secured financing from the Chinese government for the project, and current Prime Minister Bruce Golding has now ensured its completion. Those responsible for marketing the centre have an obligation to make it a success.

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