‘We’re Not Just Counting on Our Good Looks Anymore’: Caribbean Leaders are Rethinking Tourism

Strategic growth and sustainability are top of mind for tourism ministers guiding the future of visitation to Caribbean countries.

Eight tourism ministers, as well as the CEO of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), spoke to travel advisors about their goals during the ASTA Caribbean Showcase in Jamaica last month. Among them was Turks & Caicos Minister of Tourism Zhavargo Jolly, who said it’s important to “make our vision known” to travel advisors. 

“It’s no secret that we’ve been known as a high-end luxury destination with incredibly beautiful beaches, but we’ve taken a more strategic approach in terms of incorporating sustainability into our tourism,” Jolly said. “We’re moving forward with a plan; we’re not just counting on our good looks and our charm anymore. We’re incorporating sustainability, not just from an environmental perspective – we’re talking about incorporating our culture.” 

Inspired by Jamaica’s unique ability to market its tourism product through its people and culture, dating back to the initial launch of the One Love campaign, Jolly hopes to tie culture into the Turks & Caicos tourism product, as well. Ultimately, this tactic is expected to get visitors spending within the local communities, benefiting the highest number of stakeholders on the island. 

Tourism leaders, therefore, focused heavily on discussing the experiential travel trend throughout the week. Here’s how those conversations shook out in the cruise, events, and culinary travel sectors. 

Cruise Ship Arrivals 

Part of the Caribbean countries’ strategic planning lies in balancing cruise arrivals and sustainability. This means ensuring that cruise ship passengers are contributing to the local economy – and keeping private islands off the table. 

Countries such as Barbados, where 30% of cruise ships visiting the island also homeport there, are pushing for homeporting and overnight stays “so cruise passengers have opportunity to explore and to spend their money on the island, go to our restaurants,” said Barbados Tourism Minister Ian Gooding-Edghill. 

He added that the tourism board has created a task force to strategize on how to get visitors to spend more at local businesses. In St. Kitts, that means putting forward unique excursions for cruise passengers to experience when they dock. 

“Royal Caribbean and Carnival have expressed an interest in staying overnight so we had to go back to the drawing board and look to see how we can diversify our offerings to benefit stakeholders,” said St. Kitts Tourism Minister Marsha T. Henderson, “and we’ve come up with some innovative ideas to add to the product.” 

Jolly noted that Carnival Cruise Line’s presence in Grand Turk has been beneficial, as the Turks & Caicos Islands tries to spread tourism outside of Providenciales, where tourism is most prominent. Meanwhile, both St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Minister Carlos James and CTO CEO Dona Regis-Prosper agreed that cruise ships’ private islands are not the best solution to building their tourism industries responsibly – or giving travelers the authentic experiences they now crave. 

“We’re not exporting or putting our islands up for sale,” James said. “We welcome all visitors, including cruise passengers, but generally want to ensure there is a viable option for all stakeholders to benefit from the industry.” 

Event-Driven Tourism 

Caribbean countries are also looking to reduce seasonality by introducing event calendars to their tourism marketing materials. While large festivals have long been staples on many of the islands, pushing them to the forefront for travelers can help attract more tourists year-round. 

St. Kitts celebrates the Sugar Mas Carnival from late December through early January. Barbados has the Crop Over Festival from June through August. Turks & Caicos has Caribbean House Evolution in July, culminating in a boat party, and a music festival in August. The list goes on and on.  

“We want to get visitors accustomed to knowing that the music festival is around this time and they can start booking ahead of time,” Jolly said. “We are going to create this calendar and advertise it so that you as travel advisors know specifically what and when you’re selling. We are making a strategic decision to pull them together and now we can advertise it in collaboration [with travel partners].” 

These events go a long way in showcasing Caribbean culture, whether visitors are enjoying a grand costumed parade, live music, a swimming competition, or one of the region’s many food festivals. 

Culinary Experiences 

Speaking of food, there doesn’t need to be a large event in town for visitors to eat their way through the Caribbean islands. Regis-Prosper listed Blue Mountain Coffee and beef patty with extra pepper as some of her favorite things about Jamaica – and many visitors find themselves feeling the same. 

Whether it’s Jamaica’s jerk chicken, fresh fish in Barbados, or the flavors of Grenada, “the Spice of the Caribbean,” food is king in the Caribbean, and tourism officials are trying to leverage that. 

“We have to look closer at the power of what our people provide,” said Jamaica Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett. “The single most critical experience we provide for our visitors is gastronomy.” 

For example, a group of ASTA members visited Jamaica’s Appleton Estate for a rum tour that offered complimentary cocktails and a robust tour highlighting how sugar cane transforms into rum.  

Henderson noted that for those looking to really immerse themselves in Caribbean culture, food is the way to go, such as with farm-to-table dining in destinations such as St. Kitts. 

“Our food is really a reflection of our culture,” she said. “You can have your clients experience our culture through our culinary experiences.”