There's a Will, But is There a Way? Multi-Destination Travel Hot Topic at CTO/IATA Conference

Multi-destination travel in the Caribbean has been done once before, but can it, and more importantly, will it, be done again?

Regional interconnectivity among Caribbean countries was a hot topic during this week's CTO / IATA conference happening in Cayman Islands. Government officials from the countries spoke about ease of access and the importance of widening the options available to allow travellers to experience all the region has to offer while providing much-needed social and economic support to the area.

It's not a new topic; multi-destination tourism has been spoken about many times in the region, and has happened before, the most popular example was the Cricket World Cup in 2007 which allowed for fans to move throughout the region with minimal interaction with immigration authorities and customs.

Multilateral air service agreements are in place, with several governments expressing interest. The million-dollar question really is now will it happen?

"Air travel demand is close to reaching pre pandemic levels," says Peter Cerda, Regional VP Americas, IATA. "But to support the sustainable aviation sector as an integral part of the tourism value chain, we need governments to cooperate amongst themselves and with the industry. However, though we need words and declarations, we also need to act."

The CTO says a big hurdle they're facing is convincing the masses there's a return on investment.

"We have to talk about it," says Cayman Islands Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Kenneth Bryan, who this week was elected as the new chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

"Everybody wants this dream to happen. It's something we all want, so that's the commonality. Every human being operates based on cost and profit and we need to convince all our partners, all our stakeholders, that there is an opportunity here to win. And I believe we can do that if we can convince them of the long-term stability of the industry and region by working together."

"There must be a commitment that we must do it," says Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica. "In terms of the cost; yes, everything costs money. But we need to look further down the road as to what happens when someone travels to the islands, we have so much to offer and so many different experiences to share."

The Caribbean region is the world's largest open market, in terms of imports/exports GDP. It's also the most expensive in terms of airport taxes. The Caribbean Policy Research Institute in Jamaica reported in 2019, the tourism sector contributed a third of the region's GDP; directly 53% of total exports 43% of total employment and 40% of the informally employed. Airport fees and taxes can be upwards of 30% of the cost of the ticket, which impacts travellers, especially families.

One strategy to move forward in multi-destination travel is to consider the region in terms of multiple "pockets" versus one large one.

"In one space, we already have pockets in this region of luxury destination tourism," said Ms. Marla Dukharan, Economist and Leading Advisor on The Caribbean. "There are the ABC islands, you have Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe, for example. Perhaps that might be the answer; multiple pockets as opposed to one big one."

Bartlett says tourism is a "high consumption activity" and taxation shouldn't be a serious consideration for tourism.

"Tourism for us, is an export, but it's an export that we import. That means that you must provide incentives for that."

Cerda believes offering the Caribbean with affordable global and regional connectivity will create a unique selling proposition that will contribute to the region's overall socio-economic development.

"From an industry perspective, we're ready to play a role. And we hope the discussions this week will encourage government and the private sector to implement the necessary framework for us all going forward."

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