Up Front
Cayman represented at recentCTO Conference
Tourism Executives left to right: Mr.William Conolly, President of CICHA and VP Marketing, BritanniaVillas, Dr. Jean Holder, MVD-Secretary General of CTO, VicentVanderpool-Wallace, Director General
President of the Cayman Islands Hotel andCondominium Association (CIHCA), Mr. William Conolly, recentlyreturned from the 24th Annual Tourism Conference in Barbados,organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).
This important regional conference attracted more than 1,200 delegates,including Prime Ministers, Tourism Ministers, Directors of Tourism,Destination Management Organisations and Travel Agents specialisingin marketing the Caribbean.
Also representing the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism wereProduct Development Officer, Mr. Ishwar Persad, and MarketingRepresentative, Mr. Warren Solomon. Neither the Minister of Tourismnor the Director of Tourism attended the conference.
Mr. Conolly, who was recently awarded the prestigious 'Ambassadorof Tourism' award, attended the conference both in his capacityas President of the CIHCA, and as Vice-President (VP) of Marketingfor Britannia Villas.
In this dual role, he was able to benefit from the direct contactwith the specialized travel agents and at the same time gain themarketing perspective of the region's strategic initatives whichwere outlined by the CTO.
According to CTO Secretary General, Mr. Jean Holder, their missionis to provide, to and through its members, the services and informationnecessary for the development of sustainable tourism for the economicand social benefit of the Caribbean people.
The theme for this year's conference was 'Managing Change in the21st Century's and its aim was to highlight and explore the impactof the rapid, and often daunting, changes facing tourism in theCaribbean today.
There were meaningful discussions on: Developments in Technology;Sustainable Product Development; Human Resource Development; Transportationand The Role of Travel Agents. Through workshops and expert presentations,each challenge was assessed and workable solutions sought.
According to Mr. Terrell B. Jones, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Travelocity.com, while investors and players in e-commercehave been disappointed with the results in other areas, traveland tourism is getting bigger on the Internet. "The exceptionappears to be the travel and tourism industry, where it is thelargest sector on the Internet by far. It is larger than music,books, software and electronics combined - and it is likely tostay that way," Mr. Jones said.
Addressing an audience of over 1000 players in the travel andtourism trade, drawn from more than 30 countries, Mr. Jones notedthat persons using the Internet for bookings also tended to buyinto more categories. "They find the Internet extremely powerfuland the longer they are online, the more they buy. They also buymore categories - more airline tickets, more hotel rooms, morecars and more activities," he said.
It is estimated that about 60 million households are on-line inthe United States and over 30 million are planning travel by wayof the Internet, with greater numbers in the future.
These challenges were met with a generally positive outlook, althoughit was agreed that the region should work together and rise abovedifferences to build a sustainable Caribbean tourism industry.
As Mr. Holder pointed out, "Just the fact that we are allhere, shows that we are committed to the continued growth anddevelopments of tourism within the Caribbean."
Said Mr Conolly: "I believe that this is an extremely importantannual conference where Cayman must be represented. I was veryexcited to participate at such a significant regional event. Theimportance of having leadership representation is crucial. Wecannot say we are a leading tourism destination if we are nota partner in the 'vision' for the region."
He said "CIHCA strongly supports and recognises the importanceof this conference, especially in the context of this year's powerfulmessage and theme 'Managing Change in the 21st Century".