Further, tourism would contribute approximately 16.5 percent to the economic activity in the region, although The Bahamas, Jamaica, the British Virgin Islands and Antigua were pointed out as islands where tourism contributes a higher percentage to their respective economies.
But in order to manage tourism growth and its impact on the region, more education is required, David Jessop said in the Jamaica Gleaner.
“Little is written about the business of tourism or the trends that affect the industry. Its competitive position and the implications of change for those who work in or depend on the industry is, for the most part, ignored,” he added.
Mr Jessop said it was important to consider that tourism competes globally without the benefit of government intervention. “Its survival from its infancy to today has depended on its ability to deliver a unique well-priced product better than an ever-growing list of competing international destinations,” he said.
Further, he added that the challenge is in continuing to find ways to enhance the competitiveness of the tourism product the region offers.
He also identified the risk of doing this: “By bringing in high-end brands or encouraging much-needed investment, there is a real danger that the Caribbean will homogenise, even sanitise, the region’s product in a desire to provide international levels of service and efficiency.”
This could also push small hotel operations out of business, he said.
By: BARRY WILLIAMS, The Nassau Guardian
