Canadians have a great, new way to learn about the Caribbean, one of the world’s top travel destinations.
One Caribbean Canada is delighted to announce the launch of a new Caribbean tourism group in Canada, complete with a website promoting the Caribbean region. The launch of this website represents the collaboration of multiple Caribbean tourism offices wishing to promote their countries to the Canadian market and to be a Caribbean travel resource for consumers, travel advisors, journalists and meeting planners.
“For consumers, this new website offers a place to start their research with information and links to multiple destinations in the Caribbean. But this is not a booking site”, said Nancy Drolet, Founder of One Caribbean Canada and a Canadian travel expert who has worked with Caribbean destinations for many years. “We recognized that consumers were going to find us anyway, so why not provide them with the information they are looking for – all countries in one place,” added Drolet.
Scotts Head, Dominica. JIM BYERS PHOTO
To date, several Caribbean tourism offices and hotels have joined the grouping with one of the key objectives being to provide their resources on one website to effectively market their destinations.
“We are pleased to participate in One Caribbean Canada. There was a void left when CTO (the Caribbean Tourism Organization) closed their Canadian office,” said Shelley John, Director of Sales for the St. Vincent and The Grenadines Tourism Office in Canada. “There are times when each country will promote themselves separately, but there will be instances when we as relatively small Caribbean destinations will need to make our presence felt, by joining forces to promote the region as a whole.
“It has been proven that our voices will be heard stronger when we join together in unison,” John said.
As someone who loves, loves, loves the diversity of the Caribbean, I think this is a smart move. Jamaica probably doesn’t need a lot of help with publicity, but smaller or lesser-known countries such as Dominica, Nevis and Bonaire should benefit from a group like this one. And even the big names in Caribbean tourism will benefit from a group that raises awareness of the region as a whole.
Playa Rincon in the Samana region of the Dominican Republic. JIM BYERS PHOTO
“We are each working for different countries, and we all have different websites with information located in different places,” said Mikala Moss, newly appointed General Manager of Sales & Marketing for The Islands of The Bahamas in Canada. “One Caribbean Canada will centralize the information on Caribbean countries such that the same information for each country will be in the same place on each destination page. What a time saver that will be for our travel partners”.
A password protected area has been created for travel advisors, media and meeting planners to access which will contain contact information and links that consumers won’t need. For example, links to specialist training programs and hosted webinar platforms like Spoiled Agent.
Said Drolet: “Why remember 25 or 30 website addresses, when you can remember one and from there, we connect you to everyone? We truly will be Your Caribbean Travel Resource.”
Willemstad, Curacao
The website goes live in early April and will start with 18 countries and multiple hotels. The ‘Destinations’ section of the website will open with a map of the Caribbean region which will offer the visitor who is not familiar with the location of each country, the opportunity to simply click on the one they wish to research. Various bits of essential information will be available including food and dining, activities, flight information, destination wedding requirements, etc. for each country. Downloadable brochures and links to destination literature and videos will also be provided.
“We want this site to be the start of a renewed partnership with our travel advisors and look forward to your input and suggestions. It is our hope that One Caribbean Canada will not only promote the Caribbean but be a simplified resource for both future visitors to the Caribbean and to our travel partners,” said Drolet.
WORLD TOURISM SOARING BUT U.S. AND CHINA LAG
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is projecting a record-breaking year for Travel & Tourism in 2024, with the sector’s global economic contribution set to reach an all-time high of $11.1 trillion.
According to the WTTC’s 2024 Economic Impact Research, travel and tourism is set to reach a global economic contribution of $11.1 trillion USD this year. That’s $770 billion higher than the previous record.
Travel and tourism generates almost one in every ten dollars of spending worldwide.
As the global sector soars past its pre-pandemic numbers, the WTTC said it expects 142 of the 185 countries it analyzed to beat previous national records this year.
In partnership with Oxford Economic, WTTC’s latest EIR showcases a sector brimming with opportunities, underpinning almost 348 million jobs globally. This represents an increase of more than 13.6 million jobs compared to its highest point in 2019.
International visitor spending is expected to come within spitting distance of the 2019 peak, to reach $1.89 trillion, while domestic tourists are forecast to spend $5.4 trillion, more than in any year on record.
A crowded street in Bordeaux, France. JIM BYERS PHOTO
A look back on last year
Despite economic uncertainties and geopolitical shake-ups, the travel tourism sector is thriving. Representing 9.1% of global GDP, travel and tourism’s financial footprint was the largest it’s been since the golden year of travel in 2019, trailing its peak by a mere four per cent.
International spending increased by 33.1% to reach $1.63 trillion, “underscoring a vibrant comeback story for many countries around the world.” The WTTC said domestic spending increased by more than 18% to reach almost $5 trillion.
The record-breaking growth for 2024 is expected despite the fact that two of the world’s biggest tourism markets are lagging in terms of international visitor spend. The WTTC’s report said both the U.S. and China are seeing a far slower return of international tourist spend than the global average.
Reports from other organizations say Canadian tourism also is lagging, partly due to the lack of visitors from China.
Last year in the U.S., international visitor spending remained more than a quarter below the peak of 2019, while China’s visitor spend was down almost 60% from pre-pandemic levels.
“Against the backdrop of uncertainty, the travel & tourism sector remains a global economic powerhouse,” said WTTC President & CEO Julia Simpson. “This isn’t just about breaking records. We’re no longer talker about a recovery. This is a story of the sector back at its best after a difficult few years, providing a significant economic boost to countries around the world and supporting millions of jobs.
“There’s a risk however. We need the U.S. and Chinese governments to support their national travel and tourism sectors,” she said. “The U.S. and China will continue to suffer whilst other countries are seeing international visitors return much faster.”
In related news, Nova Scotia welcomed 2.2 million visitors in 2022, government figures show. That’s a substantial increase over the 1.9 million visitors it had in 2022. but still six per cent below pre-pandemic 2019 figures.
