Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean are too dependent on arrivals for tourists to engage in their tourism offerings and it is time for regional countries to explore the possibilities of virtual tourism.
President of the Caribbean Development Bank Dr. Hyginus Leon delivered this analysis during a presentation on Transforming Regional Connectivity: The Role of the Private Sector in Financing Intra-Regional Travel on Caribbean Aviation Day on Wednesday, during the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO)/International Air Transport Association (IATA) conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Grand Cayman.
Leon said the Caribbean had to come up with alternative and creative ways to maintain the demand of their tourism product and stop solely relying on the traditional arrival model to generate revenue from the industry.
“Is the issue of arrivals the holy grail of saving our tourism problem? . . .How many times have we thought about what exactly is the definition of tourism? We are stuck in the line that says tourism is visiting the Caribbean and enjoying ourselves – sun, sand, sea, good hotel, food, drink and that is tourism,” he said. “Tourism in its native sense is simply the sharing of an indigenous nature character that you have with somebody else. It is indigenous to you, they don’t have it but they would like to experience it. That is tourism.
“If we start with that as the definition of tourism why then does tourism have to be that I have to physically travel? Only because we believe that the only way I can experience something that is external, not indigenous to me, means that I have to go there?
“Maybe that could have been in the 1900’s but in 2000, 2025. 2050, what is wrong with an entire new brand of digital tourism? We are in a space of virtual reality, why can’t we tease all of the people from all over the world with virtual reality products that will tell you what you may wish to experience in person? That is tourism.”
Leon added that the cruise ship industry also needed rejuvenation.
“What about bringing a Disney/Caribbean experience to the boat? We have cruises, they come and do they show them in the boats? Wherever cruise ship passengers want, can we simulate a Caribbean experience as part of the cruise that when they land they are part of that experience.
“We can make an experience a tourism product. What about just sharing literature, our culture, through the medium of writing. That is tourism.
“When we talk about making tourism a diversified large growing area, let’s close this genie that says it’s only about sun, sea and sand, physically in the space.”
The CDB head said regional governments could explore areas in education tourism as well.
During his presentation he also highlighted the need for sustainable investment in the tourism industry and a greater commitment by Caribbean states to improve intra regional travel.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
