ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell Monday called for the inclusion of more stakeholders in the region’s tourism industry, warning that failure to do so could seriously hamper its development.
Addressing the opening of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC 2024), hosted by the CTO in partnership with the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA), Mitchell told delegates that any discussion on sustainable tourism needs to take into consideration the partnerships with the various stakeholders.
“We cannot sustain ourselves,” said Mitchell, informing the conference that while he had prepared a speech for the event, he would not deliver it.
“So it means that when we have our conversations, you probably have to be a little more inclusive and invite the farmers, the fishermen, the supply chain people to help sustain this tourism industry. Which is our crown jewel in the Caribbean”. Watch video
Mitchell warned that failure to do so would result in a couple of things, including “these people are not going to defend the tourism sector, and it also makes it easier for the politician not to defend it.”
He told the conference that, having worked for several hotels in the past, he shared a view of the sector: “It was pampered, treated exceptionally well, and primarily treated our people by rewarding them with low-paying unskilled work.
“There is some element of that. And so, in Grenada’s case, there was a deliberate public education campaign once upon a time when tourism was everyone’s business. And the question is why we had to do that.
“People did not believe that tourism was everybody’s business. They did not think tourism was good for them or the country. We have come a long way from that, and the average Grenadian and Caribbean person accepts and understands the importance of tourism.
However, Mitchell said the tourism industry “needs to do a better job of making sure that it integrates, connects with, supports, encourages other sectors of society that need to grow as quickly as tourism has grown to ensure that tourism remains sustainable.”
He said that in Grenada, for example, the government is under “severe pressure” to relax the rules and the concessions for the duties we pay to get the food the hotels need into the island.
“Many of our hoteliers will tell you it is difficult to get the type of food in quantities and quality they need to sustain and remain competitive. But if the only solution is to import all the food, I guarantee that tourism will not be sustained. I think we know that, and therefore, we owe it to ourselves, our farmers, our fishermen, our agro-processors…to help them be part of the solution to make our food more sustainable and healthier…”.
“So if we are talking partnerships, let us go beyond having a room where we are talking to ourselves and that we speak to the persons who could assist us with that partnership,” he said, referring to the fact that there is also a need for unity in dealing with other issues in the sector, including the provision of an adequate supply of water and dealing with the problems associated with mosquitoes.
He said in the Caribbean, most of the water now comes from desalination plants, “but the reality is …we have not planned for the growth in tourism by ensuring that we invest in water conservation and “the smart use of water, in recycling the use of water, etc., etc., etc..”
The CTO said that STC 2024, centered around the theme of The 5 Ps—People, Planet, Prosperity, Purpose, and Partnership—aims to address pressing issues facing the Caribbean tourism industry and foster collaboration among stakeholders to promote sustainable development.
“The conference is poised to deliver impactful discussions and initiatives to drive positive change within the region’s tourism sector.”
In his address to the opening ceremony, Adam Stewart, executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International, acknowledged that the main problem facing the tourism industry in the region is understanding visitors who represent a different generation than in the past.
“There are multitudes of generations at any given time in any segment of tourism…and the magic is to figure out how to get them to come here continuously and on an ongoing basis and to widen that net of inclusivity,” said Stewart, who is also the ATL Group President and the Sandals Foundation.
“Customers don’t owe us anything. They do not have the loyalty of the former explorers; they have the internet to guide them without ever leaving their rooms,” Stewart said, noting that the most powerful theme of the conference is partnership.
“The most powerful part of the five Ps is partnership. The public sector has a role, and the private sector has a role to the degree to which those two things come together to determine your gains and your future,” he told the opening ceremony, adding that there have been more changes and advancements in tourism globally in the last decade than there have been in the previous 50 years.
“Our job, in the short time I get to talk, is unity. It’s for all of us to come together, stand together, take head on the challenges that we face, and find a way to include everybody,” he said, recalling the problems faced by the industry due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“We as business leaders and policymakers in government have to dig deeper; we have to stop being reliable or saying this is government or private sector business. “The sooner we come together with the collective to say that this is our own, that is Caribbean business, is the sooner we will get advancement,” Stewart said.
Focusing on the need for training for workers in the tourism industry, he said there are minimum standards that customers will not accept.
“So, we have to prepare, even if it is mother nature, for the arrival of the visitor who has the choice to go anywhere in the world but chooses to come here in the region,” he said.
Dozens of speakers are scheduled to address the conference as it focuses on the essential pillars that are crucial for fostering a transformational and regenerative legacy under the theme, said Dona Regis-Prosper, Secretary-General and chief executive office of the CTO.
Download video – Grenada PM Dickon Mitchell-2024 Sustainable Tourism Conference
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