The CTO is innovating ways to make Caribbean nations first-choice destinations

- by Jasmine Edwards

To find the Caribbean’s most unflappable advocate, you don’t have to look much farther than the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). The CTO represents its 33 member nations carefully, with a sharp eye on providing timely, valuable information and analysis about the key issues facing the region. Headed by Secretary General and CEO Hugh Riley, a nine-year veteran of the organization, CTO is driven to provide to and through member nations the tools needed to build positive and sustainable tourism that benefits the entire Caribbean community.

“The Caribbean is the most tourist dependent region in the world,” Riley notes, pointing out that unlike other parts of the world, in the Caribbean it is quite literally true to say, “Tourism is everybody’s business.” From CTO’s headquarters in Barbados, it partners with public, private, and non-governmental organizations and businesses, as well as community groups and individuals to help ensure that everyone involved in the tourism industry understands the issues that affect their livelihoods, has the means to access the resources available to them as tourist destinations, and gets help applying solutions that make the most sense to them.

Managing Economic Realities

Effective education and communication streams are not the only way the CTO brings value to its member nations. The organization also spends a great deal of time on initiatives that address the economic realities that face the region. This includes keeping current on emerging tax and fee arrangements such as the UK’s Air Passenger Duty (APD), cruise ship routing choices, and incentive travel programming.

“One of the things that we absolutely bring to the table on everybody’s behalf is the business of the strengths of unity and economies of scale,” states Riley. This means that the CTO will host discussions with foreign governments on behalf of its members, as it did with Whitehall over the APD. Being able to serve in this capacity for member nations is important to present a united front for the Caribbean when necessary and use whatever influence the CTO has to bring about solutions to issues affecting member nations.

“My biggest fear is always that there is going to be somebody who has more money than we do and is using their resources more effectively than we are,” says Riley, noting that Caribbean nations aren’t spending billions on creating man-made attractions or even marketing as other nations do. Instead, the region has to rely on its abundant natural beauty and the affordability of its tourist products, and then get creative about how to most effectively get the word out about the special nature of the Caribbean to travel buyers and would-be visitors.

Leveraging Social Media and Technology

One way the CTO helps with getting the word out in an appropriate and cost effective manner is by leveraging social media. Riley feels strongly that technology is a friend to the Caribbean, in the sense that social networks and social media platforms can level the playing field for countries without deep pockets.

The CTO has been effective in creating a Twitter presence, a Facebook audience, and a YouTube Channel. People tweet about events and happenings, getting the word out quickly and affordably to followers who are media members and potential travelers. Facebook pages for the organization and member nations build community platforms and discussion spaces. CTO also creates custom content for YouTube about the region, including an upcoming documentary about the APD.

The biggest space for growth in social media and technology that Riley sees is in mobile applications. While, at the present time, visitors to the Caribbean can’t sit on the beach and use apps to explore the islands on their mobile devices or make reservations for restaurants, events, and hotels, the technology is being developed. In the future, as travelers demand more mobile apps, the Caribbean will be working to deliver on expectations for technological integration.

Unique New Initiatives

Along with being innovative and forward-looking with technology use, the CTO is also continually pioneering new initiatives with the potential to be game-changers for the travel experience within the Caribbean. Two prime examples are the Whispers From Locals program and the newly launched Total Visitor Satisfaction (TVS) scorecards.

Whispers From Locals is a new program from CTO that Riley calls “the ultimate inside scoop” for Caribbean travelers. Through Whispers From Locals, tourist destinations in the Caribbean can differentiate themselves by allowing local people to share inside information on a particular tourist product or destination. Special tips on things to see, where to go, and how to truly “get local” may not be in guidebooks or even on the Internet yet, but Whispers From Locals can provide travelers with a personal and authentic insight into a destination that nothing else can replicate.

The Whispers From Locals program helps to build and expand the already robust community tourist projects located in communities throughout the Caribbean. Locals are already heavily invested in these efforts, from craft markets to fish fry events, and they work because of the in-depth local commitment. Whispers From Locals is a means to amplify the awareness of these unique local offerings and really draw visitors into the soul of the Caribbean world.

Another unique program is the Total Visitor Satisfaction scorecard unveiled by CTO last October. TVS has ten points of criteria that destinations can use as ratings for their ability to completely satisfy and delight visitors. No other destination in the world has a similar program, but Riley sees the potential for the scorecard to become an in-demand item among travel agents and vacationers. “The Caribbean - being the most tourism dependent region in the world - must care more,” states Riley. Through the TVS scorecard, member nations can communicate that, not only do their destinations have gorgeous topography, fabulous food, and wonderful people, but the level of service and satisfaction available is superb. This is a longer-term initiative, but one that the CTO believes will truly help to set the Caribbean region apart from other vacation destinations.

Being Sustainable and Successful In The Future

The Caribbean region can also set itself apart through its commitment to sustainability. Sustainability is not just a watchword for the CTO. “Sustainable tourism is really about utilizing effectively the assets that the Caribbean has, protecting those assets, and making sure that they are available for generations to come,” states Riley. Each year CTO organizes the Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC), an event with the overarching theme of “Keeping the Right Balance” between maximizing the economic promise of the region and protecting the very assets that make the destinations attractive.

In recent years, the conversation has expanded beyond strictly green issues, though environmental issues are always a concern for the CTO. Sustainability discussions now encompass partnerships and community involvement. Hard, tactical issues are also front and center. For example, CTO member nations participate in the Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency Action Program (CHENAT), which is dedicated to teaching the hotel sector in the Caribbean to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels, reduce its energy bill and increase competitiveness by lowering ongoing operating costs. Though most visitors will not be aware of the initiative, it is ongoing and builds on a long tradition of exploration and use of renewable fuels in very bottom-line oriented ways throughout the region.

Broadening the conversation around sustainability helps the CTO and member nations focus in on the areas with the greatest potential for growth over time. By way of illustration, while large scale conference events can overwhelm hotel and air travel networks, the incentive travel market is an area of excellence for many CTO member nations. They can offer gatherings the personalized service and memorable locales that make incentive travel a true reward and keep businesses coming back in ways that they might not be able to do for 20,000 conference goers. As a result, investing CTO resources in thoughtfully targeting opportunities to bring in additional incentive travel programs leads to more sustainable and environmentally appropriate developments over time.

Continuing To Grow and Advocate

Riley is pleased with the work the CTO has been able to do so far, but knows there is more that can be done. “There are among our 33 members, individual countries that don’t need to be grappling with how to solve a particular problem because some other one of our member countries has already solved it If we can share best practices and share that kind of knowledge and experience among each other then we will all benefit,” Riley states. Even with a tough and competitive travel market at the moment, there is the potential for the Caribbean community to not only survive, but thrive.

The ultimate success of any and all efforts is graded by the member nations, and it’s a tough scorecard. CTO’s member nations rightfully expect full value for their dollar, and evaluate every activity carried out by the organization. Even under close scrutiny in all things, Riley is motivated by knowing that the work the CTO does is integral to life in the Caribbean, and that there is the potential to make a difference.

To find out more about the work that the CTO is doing and the many facets of Caribbean tourism as a whole, Riley encourages readers to reach out and visit Caribbeantravel.com, which is operated by the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, and serves as a portal to all of the websites of the CTO member countries. Another website, OneCaribbean.org, provides more information...itself.