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Last Updated: Jul 15, 2018 - 12:46:31 AM |
While there’s no use crying over spilt milk, to not investigate why the milk spilt, nor determine how to mitigate against further spills is to invite more of the same and a recipe for disaster. With this truth established the Allied Sector of Saint Lucia’s tourism must as a collective identify solutions to the challenges we face as a matter of urgency. Towards this end I propose that the following be actioned immediately the new Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association’s (SLHTA) executive is instated:
Create an Allied Sector Advocacy sub-Committee consisting of 3 - 5 allied members to champion change…
Establish a business facilitation desk at the SLHTA and/or the Ministry of Tourism to aid allied members in accessing concessions which currently exist but of which many are unaware…
Establish a system that promotes fresh new local vacation experiences on the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority’s website as for the longest while tour operators have complained that much of the island’s excursions have grown stale and uninspiring…
Restructure Tourism Investment Incentives to introduce a tier of concessions more applicable to local non-accommodation investors...
Restructure the current Tourism Incentives Act to incentivize foreign investors to buy local, do business with local firms, train their employees and engage in more aggressive corporate social responsibility activities…
Best of all - These are all “low hanging fruit” that can be achieved in 6 to 12 months.
Last year the Caribbean experienced one of it’s worst hurricane seasons ever. The reality of global warming and climate change points to challenging times ahead as we currently lack the resilience to withstand and weather these shocks. It is therefore vitally important that the Allied Sector drinks from the trough of abundance that is tourism as these local business MUST of necessity be a powerful economic cushion in times of disaster considering how little the accommodation sector ploughed back into ravaged islands compared to what they have extracted over the years.
And nowhere in this new order of business am I advocating a marginalization of the accommodation sector. On the contrary this will be a new dawn of cooperative endeavor. Truth is visitors today, whether enjoying the most expensive and luxurious accommodations or favouring AirBnB, are consistently calling for authentic local experiences. So just imagine the possibilities of this boldly new and unique Caribbean tourism experience that truly benefits all:
Hotels, by virtue of the accommodations they offer and the linkages to local experiences they facilitate
Local non-accommodation businesses offering authentic Saint Lucian experiences
And Saint Lucia through the spin-off from this truly all inclusive model.
Trickle down economics was once a widely promoted developmental model that time has proven simply does not work. And why go looking for a trickle from a broken pipe when we can harness abundance directly from source?
The time to act is now as we have the people, who have the passion, but who need to act with a sense of purpose and one accord to build real linkages that will truly be the pathway to a resilient future.
Then rather than speak of increased tourist arrivals which is a truly meaningless metric, local tourism entrepreneurs will be able to speak of increased economic benefits. Now there’s a meaningful metric and one that will serve all of Saint Lucia well.
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