The idea of a single tourism economic space is geared towards supporting the pending OECS Economic Union.
During the 9th OECS Council Tourism Meeting on April
19th, Ministers endorsed priority interventions in an OECS Tourism
Project Proposal being considered for financing under the 10th
EDF. The Council accepted key intervention areas in the OECS tourism
project proposal, including the development of a common tourism policy
for the region.
The Minister for Tourism in St. Kitts and Nevis Senator, the Honourable Richard Skerritt chaired the meeting: “The project will also establish modalities for greater community participation in tourism. The Member States and the Ministers are very firm that tourism only makes sense if the benefits reach our communities and if the tourism expenditure spreads as widely as possible and stays as long as it can in our economies. The project will also look at modalities for joint marketing to ensure that unique attributes of individual destinations are showcased but that we can still work together wherever possible to strengthen our impact in the marketplace.”
The Council of Ministers agreed to the establishment of a Special Task Force comprising primarily officials from the tourism and education sectors in the OECS, to collaborate with the Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute (ABHTI), in further articulating the requirements for establishing the Institute as an OECS Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality with the hub to be located in Antigua and Barbuda. Funds under the 10th EDF will be used to procure works, supplies and technical services to expand the facilities and course offerings of the Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute (ABHTI) complex. This effort will also seek to enhance the relevance and regional appeal of the Institute’s services, and expand its reach to the wider OECS tourism and hospitality community. Support will also be provided to upgrading tourism and hospitality education curricula and skills and formulating competency standards and certification procedures for the OECS that would lead to mutual recognition of skills and qualifications obtained in the OECS region.
An integrated system involving the Hospitality Training Institutes in each OECS Member State will complement Antigua and Barbuda as the main hub for the OECS Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality.
The Council of OECS Tourism Ministers also approved the development of tourism on a collaborative basis, to attract niche markets, including: events, heritage, sports, and yachting as having potential for pursuit of a joint or collective approach to OECS tourism product development.
Another
discussion topic was the strengthening of linkages between the tourism
and agriculture sectors. In that regard, Minister Skerritt noted the
priority the Ministers gave to promoting the closer integration of
Tourism and Agriculture:“Council also identified delegates
to attend a meeting in Dominica which will seek to strengthen the
process of greater integration of OECS Agriculture and OECS Tourism
from the demand and consumption perspectives and place it right at the
highest level of the OECS experience. We feel very strongly that there
is a lot more that can be done to encourage and promote and develop a
flow of OECS products both within the individual islands where they are
produced and across the OECS region.”
The chairman further informed the media that extensive and fruitful
discussions were held with officials of regional air carrier LIAT on
the status and future of the airline, as a means of informing policy by
the Ministers on airlift capacity and travel facilitation issues
affecting the region’s tourism industry. The Chairman said talks with
LIAT included ways in which the airline could be become more “Tourism friendly”.
In this regard, a few recommendations were made on a win-win approach for the airline, and the region’s tourism industry as a whole: “I think all concerned acknowledged the difficulties that LIAT faces in small markets, without economies of scale in many instances, with high maintenance costs and generally high equipment cost, but also emphasized for LIAT to continue working and finding ways to minimize the cost of travel and to facilitate greater opportunities for regional travel. LIAT was therefore invited to submit specific proposals to the Council of Tourism Ministers through the OECS Secretariat at the earliest opportunity outlining various ways, some of which were discussed in the meeting, in which Member States can assist LIAT’s efforts in fostering improvements in intra regional travel and expanding the economic impact of intra-regional travel as a component of the tourism economies of the OECS. The Council of Ministers also requested that LIAT revises and considers certain issues to do with baggage allowances, as it relates to certain specific groups travelling for sports and entertainment and that wherever possible, facilitate at little or no cost a second baggage allowance for those specific types of groups and individuals.”-Sen. the Hon. Richard Skerritt.
The Council of Ministers also endorsed an exploratory research project to develop a marketing and branding strategy for the OECS being undertaken by a researcher from the Coventry University in the UK, using the Policy Delphi Technique. Member States also embraced a presentation by St. Lucia on its recently completed Tourism Satellite Account, especially in light of the demonstrated capacity of that measurement tool to highlight the economic impact and importance of tourism. The Council expressed strong interest and support for advancing work on developing Tourism Satellite Accounting systems in respective Member States.
Addressing the conference, Director General of the OECS Secretariat Dr. Len Ishmael encouraged the Ministers to remain steadfast in their mission to promote the OECS as the ideal destination for visitors, and to leverage the far-reaching positive impacts of tourism to create a more diversified and inclusive regional economy. Dr. Ishmael also referred to the many opportunities available for Tourism and other sectors through diplomatic ties that the OECS has established with several nations including Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and most recently Germany; as well as through new agreements being negotiated with funding agencies. She explained that as the OECS Secretariat repositions itself, the growing unprecedented positive relationships with many nations and regions of the world have raised the profile of the OECS and created an appealing brand of its own.
Saint Lucia’s Minister for Tourism along with the Permanent Secretary as well as the Director of Saint Lucia’s Tourist Board were unable to attend the meeting because of the unavailability of flights forced by the volcano eruption in Iceland.
This was the first time the Council of OECS Ministers of Tourism met in Saint Lucia. St. Kitts and Nevis agreed to host the 10th Council of OECS Ministers for Tourism in 2011. However the Council has agreed to meet via video conference if necessary ahead of the 2011session in Basseterre.