[Fwd: CARIBBEAN: Regional Promotion Plan for Tourism]

Regional Promotion Plan For Tourism - Monday 10, December-2001

NASSAU, Bahamas – Caribbean tourism officials said Saturday they
must pool resources to offset a drop in tourism to the region
after the terror attacks on the United States, and some
suggested forming a regional airline to guarantee flights.
“The need and importance of effective promotion of our region
cannot be overemphasised,” said Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert
Ingraham, chairing the two-day meeting at a resort on Paradise
Island in the Bahamas.

The tourism summit was organised by the 14-member Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) trade bloc.

Already, in an emergency October meeting, airlines, tourism
associations and Caricom governments agreed to team up for a
BDS$32 million promotional campaign in the United States and
Europe.

But Ralph Taylor, head of the Caribbean Hotel Association, said
it was not enough. He called for a multi-country task force to
oversee co-operation in boosting tourism.

Some asked that the tourism summit be an annual event.

Others called for a regional airline, funded by Caribbean
governments, that could guarantee flights even in slow economic
times. Tourism operators complained about recent cancellations
of Caribbean routes by outside carriers.

“Airlift is critical,” said Jean Holder, head of the Caribbean
Tourism Organisation.

No world region is more dependent on tourism. Last year, tourism
brought the Caribbean BDS$40.4 billion. An estimated one in four
people is employed in tourism.

Tourists cancelled vacations to the Caribbean and elsewhere
since the hijack attacks in New York and Washington, citing
security concerns and economic difficulties. Several large
hotels in the Caribbean closed down.

SOURCE: Barbados Nation
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Received on Tue Dec 11 10:51:02 2001