News Americas, PHILLIPSBURGH, St. Maarten, Tues. Sept. 20, 2011: The state of the Caribbean tourism industry is “challenged,” says Secretary General of the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization, Hugh Riley.
Riley’s analysis came on the final day of the inaugural State of the Industry conference, hosted by St. Martin and St. Maarten and featuring several top delegates from the travel and tourism industry and the media.
Riley said while the region’s tourism sector remains “healthy,” despite the global recession, there are many tests to the industry that includes an examination of it based on profitability.
His comments came just a day after Professor Avinash Persaud said complacency, fear and a lack of hunger is keeping the Caribbean from growing as fast as it can and as top airline officials, including from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, revealed that the region is facing competition from other sun destinations like Florida, Mexico and Cape Town, South Africa, where issues like the APB (Airport Departure Tax) is further dampening demand for Caribbean travel.
But Chairman of the CTO, St. Kitts and Nevis Minister, Ricky Skerritt, said the challenges means the sector’s leaders and investors must now “reinvest and retool” to help the Caribbean tourism sector remain globally competitive.
“We have become complacent about tourism … this is a wake up call,” said Skerritt.
