Travel Weekly Newsletter June 28, 2006
THE WINDS OF CHANGEShaping the face of Caribbean business -- the "Internet revolution," social values, demography and competition -- came under scrutiny at the keynote session of the annual Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference, sponsored by the Caribbean Hotel Association held in Miami from June 25 to 28. During the session, moderator Peter Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, noted the rise in Internet usage of U.S. travelers, up from 10% 10 years ago to 85% in 2006
and a lively round of debate followed. "The rise of the Internet is the single most important event since the jet airplane," said Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. "We, in the Caribbean tourism industry, need to mirror what is happening in the marketplace." Hudson Husbands, chairman of the Barbados Tourism Authority partner in Tourism Global, a professional services firm specializing in the hospitality and tourism industry throughout the Caribbean, acknowledged that "the Caribbean is losing ground in this area and is slipping in relation to the natural competition in the marketplace." Agreeing with tourism leaders was Ewart Brown, Bermuda's minister of tourism and transport. "We're going to be late if we don't hurry up. We can't be observers to changes; we have to play." Brown advocated closing tourism offices, "stop paying rent and go virtual."
Frank van der Post, senior vice president, the Americas, Jumierah hotels, added "People today are impatient. Any Website has to be easy to manage and navigate with a maximum of three clicks." NEW YORK-BASED ALKEN TOURSwas named the official tour operator for the 2007 Cricket World Cup West Indies Series taking place on six Caribbean islands from March 15 to April 23, 2007. "Cricket is the lifeblood of the West Indian sporting world, and we are pleased to bring this event to our U.S. customers," said Alken president and CEO Patricia Lawrence-Haughton. Sample packages include accommodations with taxes and service fees, airport transfers, match tickets and roundtrip transfers to the matches.
Play will take place on St. Kitts, Trinidad, Grenada, Barbados, Jamaica and St. Lucia. For package details, visit www.alkentours.com. |
