Caribbean Tourism Organization 59Th Report Of

CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION

59TH REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS THE NEW YORK MARRIOTT MARQUIS 1535 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10036, USA

JUNE 07, 2012

One Financial Place, Collymore Rock, St. Michael, BB 11115, Barbados, Tel: (246) 427-5242/Fax :(246) 429-3065 E-mail: [email protected]

May 18, 2012

The Hon. Richard Skerritt Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Caribbean Tourism Organization Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ministry of Tourism and International Transport Government of St. Kitts & Nevis P.O. Box 878 Building 3/4 Port Zante, Basseterre ST. KITTS & NEVIS

Dear Chairman:

It gives me great pleasure to send for the information of yourself, the Council of Ministers and Commissioners and the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the attached document covering the Organization’s work for the period October 2011 through April 2012 and an outline of plans for the future.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Riley Secretary General Caribbean Tourism Organization

cc. Ms. Rosecita Jeffers, Chairman, Board of Directors

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Board of Directors’ Agenda………………………………………………………….i

Minutes of the Fifty-Eighth Meeting of the CTO Board of Directors……...... 1

Secretary General’s Report………………………………………………………...13

Director of Human Resources Report………………………………………...…24

Director of Marketing for the Americas Report……………………….……….31

Director of Marketing UK & Europe Report……………………………………42

Director of Research & Information Technology Report……………………54

Communications Specialist Report……………………………………………..59

Sustainable Tourism Product Specialist Report……………………………..66

Director of Finance & Resource Management Report………………………76

Financial Statements Information………………………………………………79

Affiliate & Allied Members Report……………………………………………...86

THE 59th MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION

TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY, June 7, 2012 9:45 A.M. to 11:45 A.M.

Cantor/Jolson Room New York Marriott Marquis New York, USA

DRAFT AGENDA

1. Call to order

2. Roll Call

3. Adoption of the Agenda

4. Sponsor presentation by the Wall Street Journal

5. Confirmation of the Minutes of the 58th Meeting of the Board of Directors held Sunday, January 22, 2012 at Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas

6. Matters Arising from the Minutes

7. Secretary General’s Report

8. Up-coming Event: - State of the Industry Conference, October 10-12, St. Kitts

9. Committee Reports - Executive Committee - Human Resources - Sustainable Tourism - Research and Information Technology - Marketing

10. Affiliate and Allied Members - CHTA - Airlines - Cruise Lines - Allied Directors - Travel Agent Chapters

11. Any Other Business

SECRETARY GENERAL

Report of the Secretary General For the period October 2011 to April 2012

Introduction This report is presented at a particularly critical time in the history of the Caribbean tourism industry when the region remains in the grip of one of the harshest economic crises of the modern era and the CTO, as the tourism development agency for the Caribbean, continues to seek ways of reinventing itself to constantly adapt to the changing needs of its members.

Anxiety over the threatened decreases in airline seats and cruiseline cabins into the Caribbean, closures of hotels and other tourism-related businesses, challenges of attracting capital investment, lagging tourism revenues despite growing overall arrivals, concerns over increasing taxation, insufficient funding to market the Caribbean, and erosion of the region’s competitive position are among the matters engaging the attention of the industry’s decision-makers.

This report summarizes ways in which the CTO has been addressing many of these matters within the seven-month period under review. What follows, therefore, is a synopsis under the headings: A. Marketing B. Advocacy C. Visitor Satisfaction D. Intra-Caribbean Tourism E. Administration and F. Conclusion

Full details of the CTO’s departmental Work Plans are contained in other sections of the folio.

A recent and important adjunct to the written report is the addition of a twice- yearly Review of Work Plans. These Reviews in June and October at the time of Caribbean Week and the State of the Industry Conference respectively, help to bolster the CTO’s committee structure and provide another opportunity for CTO members to discuss the work of the organization’s various departments. Of these, the Marketing Department has continued to be the most visible and the most vulnerable. As the New York office winds down its marketing function its focus shifts to other priority areas detailed here under Administration, while the office remains an essential component of the overall services which the CTO provides to its members.

Finally, the report takes a brief look at plans to review the CTO itself via an Organization Audit which was commissioned by the Board of Directors in 2011 and which is now progressing at a satisfactory pace.

A. Marketing CTO’s Marketing offices The CTO’s London office has continued to design and implement the projects in its approved work plans while also supervising the work of the public relations and destination representative agencies in the UK, France, Italy, Holland and Germany. Details of those plans are contained in subsequent sections of this folio.

The CTO’s New York office has executed its final Caribbean Week promotion and is focusing on its new priority areas, using June 30, 2012 as the deadline to transition out of marketing. The work of that office during the period under review is also detailed later in the folio.

Both CTO New York and CTO London will be available to the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC) as a support system if needed.

Meanwhile, the CTDC is forging ahead with its mandate to own, promote, protect, advance and enhance the Caribbean brand. At the time of writing this report in early May the CTDC’s Board of Directors had approved several stages of the design work on the new CaribbeanTravel.com, a website intended to generate significant visitor traffic and inspire bookings for participating destinations and hotels. Arrangements are being made to present an update of this work to the CTO’s members during Caribbean Week in New York.

B. Advocacy Tourism Awareness in the Caribbean One of the Advocacy tasks with which the CTO has been charged is to “educate our own region’s governments and people about the importance of investing in and supporting the industry as a tool for economic development.” That responsibility, contained in the mandate of the Chairman of the CTO’s Council of Ministers, propelled the secretariat to intensify its awareness campaign to include a series of television shows on tourism topics of interest to various types of audiences across the region.

Two such shows have been aired in November 2011 and March 2012 with distribution via the Caribbean Media Corporation in 38 television stations at each airing. More shows are planned.

Those shows are in addition to a sustained regimen of articles, interviews, newsletters and other communication disseminated by the CTO on a regular basis across the region and beyond.

Among the most consistent media partners of the CTO are CMC, TEMPO Television and WSEE-TV.

Strengthening the CTO; Bolstering the Caribbean Brand During the first quarter of 2012 the CTO’s Chairman of the Council of Ministers and the Secretary General began a series of member-country visits to better understand the needs and objectives of each country, explain the relevance of the CTO’s services, and update stakeholders on plans for effectively marketing the Caribbean brand. The goal is to cover as many countries as possible in 2012 and to ensure that the CTO and the CTDC are properly serving the needs of participating countries.

One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean An important component of the advocacy strategy is to inform Caribbean audiences of the value and function of the CTO. To that end the secretariat has commissioned the creation of a documentary film titled One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean; A look inside the Caribbean Tourism Organization. When completed the film is expected to be aired across the Region as well as overseas via YouTube and Tempo Television.

CHTA’s Tourism Is Key The secretariat supports and endorses the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Tourism Is Key campaign which aims to make the region fully aware of the economic value of the Caribbean tourism industry.

Extra-Regional Funding for data An important corollary to the above-mentioned approach is the work being done by the CTO’s Research Department which has obtained funding from the Inter- American Development Bank to assist in the development of Tourism Satellite Accounts, a system which will allow member-countries to institute a true statistical and economic measurement of tourism in their countries.

Aviation Taxation and Related Issues An important issue on the CTO’s Advocacy agenda has been the Air Passenger Duty, a tax imposed by the UK Government that has become a matter of international concern. Attempts by the Governments of the Caribbean, the CTO, the Caribbean Diaspora and the CHTA to have the discriminatory aspects of the tax removed through re-categorizing the Region have garnered tremendous support and widespread publicity but no remedial action by the British government. Other approaches being developed include a thorough examination of the legality of the APD, as well as exploring a Caribbean concession to ameliorate the discriminatory nature of the tax.

Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit (ACTS) Budgetary considerations have dictated the cancellation of the planned 2012 delegation to Brussels to once again engage the European Union, members of the European Parliament and the Caribbean diplomatic corps in policy discussions relating to aviation taxation, the Emissions Trading System and other tourism- related issues. CTO’s liaison with the Caribbean corps and key contacts in Brussels will continue.

Public Health Advocacy The new CARICOM Institution, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) which started its operations in January 2012 is a replacement for five regional health institutions: Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC) and the Caribbean Regional Drug Testing Laboratory (CRDTL).

Working in conjunction with CARPHA the CTO has agreed to be the tourism agency responsible for training and capacity building for workers in the tourism sector in the areas of food safety, environmental management and monitoring, and promoting the wellness sector in the Caribbean.

C. Visitor Satisfaction CTO named it TVS At the heart of a vacation experience is visitor satisfaction; that intangible and yet vitally important element which translates into fond memories, stories, repeat visits, recommendations and profitability. The more visitor satisfaction the Caribbean delivers, the more competitive we become and the more sustainable our tourism industry will be. Conversely, poor visitor satisfaction – and downright dissatisfaction - is a sure way of driving our guests away and into the clutches of our competitors.

While there is no index for visitor satisfaction the Caribbean has spotted an opportunity to measure this intangible and convert it into a rating system that could engage local populations, visitors, the media and the travel trade. That rating has been named Total Visitor Satisfaction (TVS) a system that allows visitors to rate destinations against a standard set of criteria determined by the visitors themselves. The CTO has been systematically developing and testing TVS over the past eighteen months and will keep its members apprised of the progress until it is ready to be fully launched to the public.

D. Intra-Caribbean Tourism Ongoing search for Air Transportation solutions The CTO continues to initiate discussions with regional airlines, Caribbean governments and aviation consultants in an effort to arrive at solutions to the continuing problem of inadequate air service to and within the Caribbean. While the issue has certain common characteristics across the Caribbean, it is clear that there are also country-specific elements that must be taken into consideration.

At the time of writing this report in May 2012, the secretariat was following up on a number of approaches including discussions with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company as well as finalizing arrangements for the services of a noted aviation consultant to focus on possible solutions.

The San Juan Accord The preamble to the Accord states in part: In October 2007 Ministers with responsibility for Tourism and International Transport of member countries of the CTO met under the chairmanship of Senator the Honourable Allen Chastanet in San Juan, Puerto Rico to discuss proposals for restructuring the regional air transport sector in order to offer the best prospects for safe, secure and sustainable air services in the Caribbean.

The Ministers along with civil aviation and tourism officials, select regional airline executives and representatives of relevant regional and international institutions focused particularly on measures aimed at improving the management of international and intra-regional air services in order to maintain and improve the vibrancy and competitiveness of the vital tourism sector while promoting greater business, social and institutional integration in the region.

Ministers received presentations from the Head of the European Delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean (EU), and representatives of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), prior to consideration of the working document from CTO entitled “A Proposed Policy Regime for Ensuring the Sustainability of the Caribbean’s Air Transport Services Sector”.

Following intense discussions, Ministers noted: 1. The many previous recommendations on regional air transportation solution, which have not been implemented, and the ongoing process in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to liberalize air transport services and harmonize aviation safety and security measures pursuant to obligations emanating from the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas; 2. The need for a single CTO-wide policy or harmonization of policies on air transportation; 3. Air transport solutions are crucial to tourism and general business development and a regional approach would be much more effective, far- reaching and sustainable; 4. The need for the requisite financial support and specialized technical resources to examine and implement the accepted proposals.”

During the period under review the Chairman of the CTO’s Council of Ministers, Senator the Honourable Richard Skerritt authorized the participation of the CTO secretariat in a meeting of Ministers of Civil Aviation of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States at which the CTO undertook to seek ways of moving the San Juan Accord forward.

The CTO’s Secretary General has since begun discussions with the Acting Director of the East Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority and the newly appointed Aviation expert at CARICOM to: Determine the status of the proposals in the document and whether any items have been implemented in whole or in part Determine a timeline for the items that can in fact be implemented in the short and medium term Determine what resources might be needed for implementation and recommend where those resources could be sought

Re-Discover The Caribbean Show The CTO secretariat has reopened discussions with the organizers of the Re- Discover The Caribbean trade and consumer show, with a view to transforming this into a truly regional event that will help to stimulate interest in intra-regional tourism. The Re-Discover show, which has now gone into hiatus, had been centered on Barbados for a number of years but never made the leap to other viable Caribbean markets with large population centers.

These new discussions are still at an early stage. Naturally, the success of the show will depend upon the availability of enticing packages and reasonably priced air transportation between participating islands.

Caribbean Cruising As part of the effort to understand more about Caribbean cruise passengers – and therefore ultimately to determine how to increase the demand for Caribbean cruising, the CTO’s Research department conducted Surveys of cruise passengers to the Caribbean for summer and winter. That research was designed to identify the factors motivating visitors to take a cruise and in particular to try to determine what is necessary to encourage greater summer cruise activity. Expansion of this activity to cover the wider market of potential cruise business in North America is now being explored. It is expected that this final phase of the investigation will provide a greater and more relevant confluence of views on how to proceed strategically with marketing and policy initiatives. This work should be completed in the third quarter of 2012.

E. Administration Role of the CTO’s NY office As the CTO’s New York Office continues to shed its marketing responsibilities the focus is shifting to the following priority functions: 1. Develop approved CTO conferences and industry events into revenue- generating units that provide a benefit to the organization’s members while also being financially profitable and sustainable. 2. Increase non-government membership in the organization as an income generator and designate that responsibility to a specific CTO- USA, Inc. staff member. No one in the entire organization currently has that function. At its peak several years ago, the dues from CTO’s Allied membership surpassed US $100,000 annually. 3. Monetize the Diaspora website www.OneCaribbeanDiaspora.com into a profit center. The site is a CTO property; developing it into a full- blown commercial enterprise could involve the services of a private contractor under the supervision of the CTO. While the Caribbean Diaspora has in many ways assimilated into its adopted countries, its members have continually shown an interest in and yearning for things Caribbean. That attraction can be used to the advantage of the CTO and its members for a variety of purposes. 4. Develop an aggressive fundraising program with the objective of substantially strengthening the CTO Foundation in the US, and the CTO Scholarship Foundation in Canada. Because the Foundation has the status of a registered charity in the US it has the ability to attract donations from individuals and corporations on a far larger scale than is currently being done. Similarity between the goals of the CTO Foundation and the CHTA’s Education Foundation suggest that there is a serious need for a discussion between the two on closer collaboration. 5. Restructure the income generating potential of the CTO Chapter system in the US and Canada. As entrepreneurs, travel professionals can and will continue to develop their own relationships with suppliers in all areas of the tourism industry. Yet, travel agents have historically also clung to their relationship with large organizations such as the CTO from which they derive benefits and credibility that they use to their professional advantage.

The CTO’s plans to incorporate over 1,000 travel agents into dues- paying Allied members of the organization should be molded into an ongoing business plan that should include a requirement for a portion of funds raised by travel agent groups in the name of the CTO to be donated to the CTO Foundation. 6. Provide administrative and advocacy support for CTO Headquarters in its approach to extra-regional funding and development agencies, particularly as many of those agencies have a presence in the United States and Canada. Approximately 20% of the funds managed by the CTO originate from sources outside the Caribbean. While those project funds contribute nothing toward defraying the CTO’s overhead costs, they are an essential tool for delivering education, training, research, energy-efficiency and sustainable development services to CTO’s members.

After an exhaustive search for smaller, reasonably priced office space for the New York office, a location has finally been negotiated and decided. The office will move to a reduced space on the 33rd floor of its current address at 80 Broad Street in Manhattan.

Boosting Research capability The tourism industry continues to demand reliable, useful research upon which to base important decisions. Projections, trend analyses, visitor satisfaction information and basic data-mining are among the functions which the CTO’s Research Department has been able to perform creditably over the years. As the requirements for more and more types of useful data increase, it has become clear that the secretariat must fill the vacancy for the post of Deputy Director, Research; a vacancy which has not been filled since 2008. This position is contained in the organization’s approved budget and will be filled in the coming months. Appointing a Deputy Director will allow the organization to better serve the information needs of its members, provide additional sources of revenue and develop a necessary succession plan for that department.

Membership Matters Membership needs and concerns are at the core the CTO’s existence and are inextricably linked to the financial sustainability of the organization. The Financial Report is herein presented separately in the folio distributed to the CTO’s stakeholders.

The CTO’s secretariat continues its efforts to provide the services needed to enhance its members’ tourism business. Meeting the cost of those services is largely a function of the secretariat’s ability to convince members to pay their dues. Two countries that reached the constitutional limit of arrears – Suriname and the Dominican Republic – ceased to be members at the end of 2011.

Recently, other countries have made a point of questioning whether to continue their membership in the organization. The Secretariat is paying particular attention to these matters.

Meanwhile interest is being expressed by other countries, largely Latin American, to join the organization. Due consideration is being given to each expression of interest in accordance with the terms of the CTO’s constitution.

Organization Audit In January 2012 the CTO’s Board of Directors authorized the management consulting firm McKinney Rogers to conduct an Organization Audit of the CTO. The objectives are to: 1. Provide clarity of global and regional trends in the tourism industry 2. Evaluate the performance of the CTO in line with stakeholder expectations & the tourism environment 3. Review the Organization’s operating model and effectiveness 4. Develop an organization blueprint for the CTO The work is progressing; a status report will be presented to the CTO’s Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Council of Ministers in June during the meetings of Caribbean Week in New York.

F. Conclusion The CTO has continued to be true to its original mission to “Provide to and through its members, the services and information necessary for the development of sustainable tourism, for the social and economic benefit of the people of the Caribbean.” A key consideration naturally comes to mind: Whether that mission is still relevant today and if it is, how to keep customizing it to fit the changing needs of CTO’s members.

Whether through innovative projects, new ways of earning revenue or exposure to the latest thinking in the industry, it seems clear that change is occurring all around the CTO and the organization is embracing it. CTO itself is initiating some of that change through fresh programs and new partnerships that will benefit the entire Caribbean.

But even as the CTO strives to stay viable and relevant some of its members are faltering in their financial responsibilities and overall commitment to the concept of One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean; an inevitable result of the current economic reality is that the number of CTO’s member countries after being relatively stable at 30-33 is now under threat.

The quest to bolster the size of the organization by adding new member-countries creates an interesting test of the region’s willingness to accept change. New members bring new characteristics that could change the CTO’s dynamics; but new members add girth to the organization and revenue to the bottom line. Whether girth and strength are synonymous is an important question for an organization that constantly strives to add strength while also remaining nimble and fast-moving. These are ongoing issues to be considered not only within the ambit of the CTO’s constitution but within the context of the existing members’ comfort zone.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

REPORT OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AUGUST 2011 to APRIL 2012

Strategic Objective #1: Re-define and enhance the profile of tourism/hospitality

a. Hospitality Assured – Promoting Service and Business Excellence Forty eight (48) businesses are currently part of this programme in Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago and fifteen (15) businesses have gained the HA certification and the remaining companies are working towards their certification. On September 27, 2011, to signal the coming to an end of the EU/ PRO€INVEST project support at the end of September, a Review Session was held in Barbados and key stakeholders representing a cross section of interests in the Hospitality Assured programme were in attendance. The participants gave a resounding vote of approval regarding the value of the programme and the need to encourage greater participation of tourism businesses now that the pilot programme had come to an end.

The Director of HR was invited to make a presentation on the Hospitality Assured programme at an EU/ PRO€INVEST workshop in Brussels, on September 22 and 23, 2011, entitled “Capitalisation on Thematic Best Practice developed during implementation of technical assistance projects for intermediary organizations in the Caribbean and Pacific regions.”

The Director of HR has approached the IDB, “Compete Caribbean” project for funding support for Hospitality Assured and will also approach the EU/CDE project, Caribbean Regional Office.

b. Total Visitor Satisfaction Programme/Destination Scorecard A terms of reference has been developed to bring a consultant on board this programme to develop all aspects of the project and help in the search for funding support.

c. Youth Programmes The Tourism Youth Congress took place as part of CTO’s State of the Industry Conference in September 2011, in St. Martin. Eleven (11) countries participated in the 2011 event.

Strategic Objective #2: Initiate and support efforts in continuous education, training and development

d. Certificate Tour Guide Training Programme The curriculum for this programme is now complete and the DVD is also complete. A copy of the curriculum and the DVD, in English, will be sent to member countries in the near future.

A proposal for funding was sent to the Caribbean Development Bank in March 2011, to assist with the implementation of a regional workshop to ensure that the trained trainers understand the National Vocational Qualification/Caribbean Vocational Qualification system and its practical application as it relates to imparting of information to the learners, evaluation methodologies, etc. The CDB has agreed to support the staging of this workshop by July 2012, in Jamaica.

e. Tourism Awareness – Barbados CTO helped to organize an itinerary for thirty (30) students and two (2) teachers from the Maris Stella SBO College in Curaçao who were paying a visit to Barbados from April 16-29, 2012. The students and teachers also spent Friday, 20 April, 2012 at the CTO Headquarters in Barbados, getting information on the CTO through presentations made by the Secretary General and department heads.

f. Caribbean Spa & Wellness Association/Caribbean Export Development Agency - CARTFUND Health & Wellness Project The Director of HR is CTO’s representative on the Project Steering Committee for the CARTFUND project entitled “The Development and Promotion of the Caribbean Health and Wellness Tourism Sector.” The project is managed by the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) on behalf of the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Association and funded by UKAid, through the Caribbean Development Bank. The Director of HR participated in several meetings to review and discuss various outputs from the three main projects being engaged in:

Market Research and Strategy Development Marketing and Promotion Standards Development

CTO’s Director of Marketing for the Americas attended a regional symposium for this project in Dominica, on July 12 and 13, 2011, to review the Sector Strategy. The Director of HR attended another regional symposium in Antigua, on April 11-12, 2012 which sought to solicit more input into the Sector Strategy and to gain input for the Marketing and Promotion component.

Permission has been given for all countries to receive the outputs of this project once they have been finalized. g. Management of Service Quality Workshop – St. Eustatius The Director of Human Resources conducted one of CTO’s workshops entitled “The Management of Service Quality”, from August 15-18, 2011. Twenty six (26) persons attended from a cross section of government departments in this country. h. During this period the organization hosted eight (8) interns at its Headquarters to provide the students with practical working experience as part of their academic programme requirements. i. Tourism Education Workshop – Cayman Islands On the request of the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, from 27-30 March 2012, the Director of HR conducted a tourism education workshop for approximately 20 teachers. The CTO tourism education manuals were provided to every teacher as resource materials for the workshop. In addition, CTO provided each school with a copy of the CTO “Careers in Tourism” DVD, all of the workshop slides, plus a CARIBSAVE Film Series DVD which showcased “Climate Change and Caribbean Tourism” and which was shown during the workshop. j. Annual Tourism HR Conference This conference was postponed from November 2011 to May 23-25, 2012, and will be held at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus. The Conference is being organized and hosted in conjunction with the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus and the Barbados Community College/Hospitality Institute. A number of planning meetings were held during this reporting period. The theme of this year’s conference is “Enhancing Caribbean Tourism Human Resources through Partnerships and Innovation.”

k. Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) – CAPE subject in Tourism For many years CTO has been lobbying for the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) to offer Tourism as an examination subject. As a result of these efforts, in July 2011, the Director of HR was approached by CXC to give input into the work of a team which was meeting to develop a syllabus for Tourism, for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations. On September 26 and 30, 2011 the CTO HR Director provided input into the work of the team that met in Barbados to develop the syllabus, and then in November 2011 she was also asked to review the 1st draft of the Tourism syllabus. CTO provided a copy of its resource manual “Teaching Tourism in the Caribbean – A Resource Manual for Teachers of Tourism at the Secondary Level” to each of the members of the team developing the tourism syllabus. The expectation is that the syllabus will be ready for use in schools by September 2013, in time for CAPE examinations in May-June 2014. CTO will also seek to make input into preparing the teachers to teach the subject through supporting the delivery of tourism education workshops for teachers.

l. LiveMocha – Online Language Training The CTO signed up for a one year subscription with LiveMocha, from September 2011 to September 2012. LiveMocha is the largest online language training community. Currently three hundred and one (301) persons have signed up to use the programme, with the largest number of users in the Bahamas, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.

Strategic Objective #4 – Strengthen leadership capabilities within tourism/hospitality

m. The department continues to have a focus on leadership issues at its annual conference. This year the topic “Recognizing and Nurturing Leadership at all levels of the Organization” will be discussed.

Meetings and Other Miscellaneous Activities

The Director of HR participated in the following meetings and other engagements during the reporting period:

CTO’s Business Meetings and State of the Industry Conference in St. Martin, September 14-17, 2011.

Support for the TCI Tourist Board in the revision of its job descriptions for staff and organization chart and updating of its policy and procedures manual. Three visits were made to undertake this exercise during the period October 10-15 and November 14-19, 2011 and January 24-27, 2012.

A long service awards presentation and luncheon for staff and retirement function for Mrs. Harriette Banfield, a long standing and dedicated member of staff held on December 2, 2011.

The Barbados’ Ministry of Tourism Annual Speech Competition on January 16, 2012, which is an annual event used to choose the country’s representative at CTO’s Tourism Youth Congress.

CTO’s Business meetings on January 22, 2012 in the Bahamas.

A meeting with a British Trade Mission team to CTO’s offices on February 1, 2012.

A meeting of the local chapter of the Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions (ACTI) on February 9, 2012, at which time a presentation was made with respect to copyright issues in the field of education.

A meeting with Will Casselton of McKinney Rogers which is conducting the organization audit of the CTO on the afternoon of February 10, 2012. Attending the meeting was the CTO’s Board of Directors chairperson, Mrs. Rosecita Jeffers, Ms. May Hinds, an allied member on the Board and CTO’s management team at its headquarters.

CTO meeting with Hubert Perr and Camille Wildmar, two senior persons from the EU delegation in Barbados, to share programme ideas and discuss possible sources of funding and strategies to engage the EU in matters of importance to Caribbean tourism.

A consultation to make input into Barbados’ Tourism Master Plan, on 20 February, 2012.

A meeting of the Board of Directors of the CTO Foundation/Canada, on 22 February, 2012, in Toronto, Canada. Participation was done via Skype.

Transnational Qualifications Framework (TQF) Launch and VUSSC Strategy Meeting, from March 1-2, 2012 in Mahé, Seychelles, organized by the Commonwealth of Learning. The Director of HR was invited to make a presentation relating to the common core curricula for the associate degree programme in tourism/hospitality and CTO’s efforts to put as many courses as possible online, and to share those courses with the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC).

Upcoming programmes, activities and events between May and December 2012:

Hospitality Assured Award Ceremony, Tobago Hospitality & Tourism Institute, Tobago, 07 May 2012.

CTO’s Tourism HR conference will be held from May 23-25, in Barbados.

The Director of HR will participate in CTO’s Business meetings and Caribbean Week events in New York, from June 4-8, 2012.

CTO is working with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) to ensure that Caribbean tourism educators have the skills to instruct online, and will be running a 5-7 day workshop with COL, in June 2012, to teach these skills. An effort will be made to launch the online Sustainable Tourism course developed by the CTO as an output of the skills training.

The Director of HR has agreed to conduct a workshop with trainers from the Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute on the subject of Customer Service and the Management of Service Quality, from June 18-21, 2012.

CTO will be working with HEART/NTA in Jamaica to organize a regional 2 day workshop for tour guide trained trainers in Jamaica, in July 2012, to ensure that the trained trainers understand the National Vocational Qualification/Caribbean Vocational Qualification system and its practical application as it relates to imparting of information to the learners, evaluation methodologies, etc.

A four-day tourism education workshop will be conducted for St. Eustatius, in September 2012.

Discussions will be conducted with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Trinidad to see if the CTO and ILO can work jointly to develop a regional framework for collecting labour market information.

The department will be working with Tourism Development Corporation/STEP programme in Trinidad, in conjunction with the Organization of American States, to re-introduce and re-vitalize aspects of the STEP programme and address the needs of the small tourism operators in the region.

During the second half of the year the department will have installed a management information system for the organization’s human resource needs.

There will be ongoing efforts to strengthen the work of the CTO Foundation and build the CTO Foundation/Canada.

Every effort will be made to spread the benefits of the Hospitality Assured programme.

MARKETING FOR THE AMERICAS

CTO AMERICAS MARKETING REPORT SEPTEMBER 2011 – APRIL 2012

OVERVIEW

CTO-USA, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CTO Barbados, handles the marketing activities of the Americas from its New York office.

MARKET CONDITIONS

United States The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012, Commerce Department data released on 4/27/12. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, rose 2.9 percent in the first quarter, beating expectations. Despite consumer anxiety over gas and food prices that are stretching household budgets, consumers are still spending.

But while the figures may be embraced by Wall Street, at least a few signs suggest that consumers are still struggling. The personal saving rate declined again, to 3.9 percent, meaning that people had less left over from their spending sprees. Their incomes grew but didn’t keep up with their rising debt.

Canada The International Monetary Fund's spring global economic outlook predicts that Canada’s economy will continue to grow (albeit not great) by 2.1 per cent this year and 2.2 in 2013 — an upgrade from January's 1.7 and two per cent predictions. Businesses continue to see sales growth accelerating in the coming months, which will help generate hiring and business investment - two key drivers of economic growth. Overall, confidence remains stable and there was increased optimism among businesses anticipating improved demand over the next three months, planning to hire and investing in capital.

Regional Marketing Fund Five countries paid a total of $1,410,097 into the Regional Marketing Fund for 2011. So far this year only 1 country has met its 2012 commitment. The Regional Marketing Fund is the source of funding for marketing activities in the Americas and Europe. As a consequence, CTO-USA, Inc. began 2012 with no discretionary funds after we met the contractual obligations to the Public Relations agencies. The Board’s mandate having been that CTO’s marketing activities would have a strong public relations focus because the budget was insufficient to engage in any significant advertising program.

MARKETING ACTIVITIES – USA

1. CaribbeanTravel.com The Website The management and operation of the existing www.CaribbeanTravel.com continue to be handled from the CTO New York offices and its operation includes the continuation of Search Engine Optimization/Search Engine Marketing (SEO/SEM), responses to feedback and updating content including “Hot Deals”.

2. Caribbean Week in New York

The office is currently engaged in the planning of Caribbean Week in New York scheduled for June 3rd through 9th, 2012. The program includes several elements of past Caribbean Week activities, including CTO Business meetings. The main events and activities are:

Launch of Caribbean Week (and Caribbean Heritage Month) in collaboration with Mount Vernon City Hall; NTO and Travel Agents Workshops; Student Colloquium (for College students); Diaspora Forum; Investment Forum; Caribbean Fair; Media Marketplace; Marketing Conference; and Rum & Rhythm Benefit. Information on all activities is on the updated Caribbean Week website: www.CaribbeanWeekNY.com.

The aim of CWNY each year is to exceed the level of media coverage ever obtained through more aggressive promotion and the addition of new events, with the critical objective of featuring the diversity, authenticity and other attributes of the Caribbean to generate more business for our members.

3. Guide to the Caribbean Brochure The latest edition of the Guide to the Caribbean brochure has been completed. The Guide is distributed to consumers, the trade and media in the USA, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America, at major trade and consumer shows and other special events. The Guide, which is funded entirely by advertisements, is also distributed as a fulfillment piece in response to requests received via telephone, email and the websites. Advertising revenue surplus is earmarked for the CTO Foundation which is in dire need of funding.

4. CTO Conferences CTO-USA was centrally involved in developing the program, managing the registration, sponsorship solicitation, logistics and production of the final program for STC-13 which was held in Guyana, April 15-18, 2012. Planning for the 2012 State of the Industry Conference “Developing a Winning Strategy” to be held in St. Kitts, October 10-12, 2012 is beginning and CTO-USA will be integrally involved in the same areas.

5. Trade and Consumer Shows CTO has partnered with several trade and consumer shows to secure special rates for government members and to create Caribbean sections that raise the profile of the organization as well as showcase the diversity of the Caribbean product.

For the New York Times Travel Show, CTO organized the “Focus on the Caribbean Forum” for travel agents on the weekend of March 2-4, 2012. CTO secured speakers for the conference and both the Director and Deputy Director of Marketing participated in the presentations.

CTO also participated in the Boston Globe Travel Show, Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show, and the Travel & Adventure Shows in Chicago, Washington, DC and Los Angeles. We have also negotiated rates at the Sumfest Show in Hartford, CT.

6. Office Relocation CTO-USA, Inc. dedicated a significant amount of time in the search for appropriate office space in New York. We are currently reviewing the contract and communicating with member countries to determine their interest in sharing the new space which we have identified in the building that currently houses our offices.

7. Membership Chapter CTO continues to focus, successfully, on engaging a network of qualified travel consultants as opposed to large numbers of agents with no clear evidence of professional accreditation or productivity.

The new Chapter website – www.OneCaribbeanChapter.com is completed and will be launched during Caribbean Week. At the moment the website has a schedule of webinars that are being presented by the NTO representatives every month. The website manages membership registration online, registration for seminars and webinars, and other features to facilitate communication with the travel agent Chapter members.

Our office coordinated 3 webinars targeting travel agents featuring: Anguilla and St. Martin/St. Maarten, and one conducted by CTO for Canadian travel agents. The webinars reached 110 agents with IATAN cards. The webinars offer an opportunity for our member countries to reach travel agents in areas where they do not have a presence to educate them on the diversity and quality of the product offerings.

A survey was conducted amongst the travel agents members of the Chapters to determine their level of productivity, most popular affiliation to other professional organizations, most popular destination specialists programs completed, most popular niche market of specialization, percentage of leisure as compared to business trips, destinations sold the most within the Caribbean and the level of optimism towards the Caribbean as a destination.

NTOs We met with the National Tourist Office (NTO) representatives in November 2011for regular updates, but on a more frequent basis during Caribbean Week 2012 Planning meetings. We communicate with individual national tourist office board representatives with information on potential opportunities for business regularly, as necessary.

Allied Members CTO-USA continues to solicit new Allied members, sixteen of which joined during the period: Association - Saint Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association, The Humane Society International; Caribbean-based business – St. John’s Specialties, Tourism Intelligence International; Consultancy – Hospitality Growth Solutions, Sixel Consulting Group; Financial Institution – Banco Popular; Local organization – Sustainable Travel International; Marketing company – Development Counsellors International; Media-branding/graphic design – Opusseven, Inc.; Media-program producer – Gabriela Moennig; Public Relations Agency – Argyle Communications, Quinn + Company; Travel Agency – Dream Vacations Unlimited, LLC, Jadd Fong Travel; Tourism Agency – IRT.

A survey for allied members has been submitted to all allied members with the objective of learning about perceptions, opinions and attitudes they have about our organization, so we can assess their responses and make a plan to better serve them.

8. Media and Other Co-op Ventures We continue to review media proposals that will provide economies of scale. We examine those opportunities that have the potential to generate business while providing significant exposure at minimal cost. Proposals with potential are communicated to member countries for their consideration. In the period, we forwarded a proposal from the National Association of Black Journalists for their convention in Louisiana, among others.

9. Strategic Alliances As a result of ongoing negotiation between CTO-USA, Inc. and Monroe College, CTO signed an MOU with the College in February 2012 that awarded scholarships in the amount of $250,000 to the CTO Foundation. We expect that the contract will be renewed after the first three-year cycle and that the CTO Foundation will be in a position to increase the number of scholarships and grants to deserving Caribbean nationals.

CTO also continues to establish relationships with various entities to leverage its spend on the various marketing initiatives and activities.

We are continuing to build relationships with the following Caribbean Diaspora – the Consuls General, Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Caribbean America Business Association, The Caribbean Association of East Orange, the Caribbean Committee of Mount Vernon, Face of Fashion, Hard Beat News, Global Wedding Association, and Caribbean Tales – to expand our reach and strengthen our relationship with the Caribbean Diaspora as we encourage their role as unofficial ambassadors of Caribbean travel.

During the period we held discussions with Diaspora Groups in Hartford, Connecticut and revisited the Diaspora in Boston to review the Diaspora website with them. Both groups are eager to get more involved with the Organization and to increase the number of visitors they can influence to travel to the Caribbean. In both cities, they lamented the difficulty of getting to the Caribbean affordably, and were concerned about their ability to “sell” the region to friends and colleagues, when they were themselves challenged by the cost and time involved in getting to several Caribbean destinations.

We are also strengthening our relationship with Colleges by hosting tourism students as interns and as volunteers. During the period, we hosted 8 students. We are receiving requests from more Colleges for internship opportunities and we are happy to accommodate them.

MARKETING ACTIVITIES – LATIN AMERICA

1. Caribbean Section at ABAV In keeping with our directive to tap into new and realistic markets, we coordinated a Caribbean section at the ABAV Fair of the Americas, the largest travel trade event in Latin America, in Brazil, October 19-21, 2011. The objective of our participation in ABAV was to continue to support the destinations already participating, represent those unable to participate, and to identify and meet with key travel trade contacts to further explore the market's potential to gain a clear understanding of the marketplace opportunities for increasing Brazil's Caribbean productivity from current figures. CTO shared booth space with the British Virgin Islands, St, Martin, Turks & Caicos Islands and the US Virgin Islands, with a design that created a much more impactful presence than previously. There are opportunities to expand on the shared space to assist destinations with smaller budgets to have a presence in this vital market.

2. FITVEN A considerable amount of time has been invested with the staff of the Ministry of Tourism of Venezuela following up on a proposal from their government for CTO to support FITVEN 2012, an International Travel Fair for both the trade and consumers.

MARKETING ACTIVITIES – CANADA

1. Trade and Consumer Shows CTO worked with the organizers of the International Travel & Tourism Show (SITV) held in Montreal, October 21-23, 2011, to enhance our presence through a coordinated Caribbean Section and to secure reduced rates for participating destinations. We also worked with and participated in these other shows with the same objective: The Ultimate Travel Show (January 29, 30, 2012, Toronto) and the Good Food Festival & Market (May 4-6, 2012, Toronto). We continue to seek opportunities for our members to gain exposure in the market.

2. Media Marketplace – Montreal We planned Media Marketplace in Montreal to coincide with the SITV show. It was held on Thursday, October 20. Ten member countries participated – Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, St. Martin, Turks & Caicos, US Virgin Islands; and one Allied Member – The Atrebor Group. There were 16 media in attendance.

As a result of Media Marketplace, articles were published on www.expressvoyage.ca (reach: 10,000), www.opinion-edition.com (reach: TBC), and www.ledevoir.com (reach: 271,000).

3. Caribbean Week in Canada CTO-USA, Inc. dedicated a significant amount of time planning the events for Caribbean Week in Toronto which was held December 6-8, 2011.

The aim of Caribbean Week each year is to exceed the level of media coverage ever obtained through more aggressive promotion with the critical objective of featuring the diversity, authenticity and other attributes of the Caribbean to generate more business for our members. Keeping the Region front of mind is vitally important, more so in this economic climate.

The schedule for Caribbean Week in Toronto included:

Workshop for NTOs with 15 government representatives in attendance. Diaspora Forum with 61 leaders and Influencers of the Caribbean community. Workshop for Travel Agents with 78 agents and 14 Exhibitors, including 9 member countries – Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and US Virgin Islands. Media Marketplace with 14 exhibitors, including 12 member countries and 1 Allied member – Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Grenada, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos, US Virgin Islands; and The Atrebor Group. Rum & Rhythm with 8 participants including 7 member countries – Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos Islands.

4. Consumer Events CTO has been involved in planning along with the NTOs, a series of consumer events in Canada to support the NTOs in the marketplace to promote the Caribbean during the period July to October. These will take the form of Instore promotions (to include LCBO locations), Caribbean Days at businesses targeting employees, and also at Malls; Food Festivals around major events such as Caribana, among others.

5. Workshop for NTOs On December 6, 2011 we conducted a Workshop for NTOs on Looking and Communicating Effectively during a Crisis. There were 15 persons in attendance.

6. CTO Scholarship Foundation We have secured status as a charity in Canada for the CTO Scholarship Foundation and we are in the process of finalizing the By-Laws and identifying Board members, so that we may begin the solicitation effort in that market.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Our relationship with the Public relations agencies in Canada and the United States ended in February and March, respectively. However, until that time, the Canadian agency worked on Caribbean Week in Toronto and other initiatives.

USA From July 2011-March 2012, Quinn & Co. undertook the following PR activities on behalf of the Caribbean Tourism Organization:

Press Releases/Media Outreach:

Drafted and distributed releases - late Summer/Fall Round Up; State of the Industry Conference and Sonesta/Caribbean Tourism Month Deal. Regularly monitored regional and national publication editorial calendars and pitched accordingly, fielded media leads and compiled CTO region- wide information for the following outlets: TODAY Show, The Nate Berkus Show, The New York Times, USA Today, Travel + Leisure, W Magazine, Food + Wine, US Airways Magazine, Redbook, AAA Magazine, Caribbean Travel + Life, Frontiers Magazine, WineEnthusiast.com, NY Daily News, Dallas Morning News, Washington Post, Travel Weekly, Concierge.com and About.com.

Other initiatives included the coordination of the Destination of the Month promotion; Whispers from Locals; and a weekly Twitter contest.

During the reporting period, Quinn + Co.’s PR efforts in the USA generated 10 print clips for a measurement of 10,208,606. There were 20 Internet clips measuring 57,988,653; and 1 broadcast clip measuring 5,570,000.

Canada For Caribbean Week in Canada 2011, and Media Marketplace in Montreal, held October 20, 2011, Argyle Communications was engaged in organizing and managing the media programs for Media Marketplace, the Media Awards Luncheon and Rum & Rhythm. Highlights included:

Securing 16 media attendees at the Montreal event and 69 media attendees at the Toronto events.

Securing an official proclamation from the City of Toronto, declaring December 5-10th as Caribbean Week and its formal presentation at the media briefing. Securing high profile judges (external) for the 2011 Caribbean Media Awards in Toronto: Dr. Rita Cox, a renowned storyteller and multi-cultural educator; Lillian Allen, writer and Juno award winner, who teaches creative writing; Dr. Camille Hernández-Ramdwar, a sociology professor at Ryerson University who specializes in Caribbean studies; and in Montreal: Elysia Bryan-Baynes, GlobalTV broadcaster, journalist Jacques Grenier and Hugo Leclerc, manager, international tourism for Tourisme Montreal. Securing high profile emcees for the Media Awards Luncheons: Isabelle Massé from La Presse in Montreal and former CP24 broadcaster Nneka Elliott in Toronto. Furthering relationships between the Caribbean Tourism Organization and public officials by securing the attendance of: Councillors Joe Mihevc and Josh Colle, Hon. Margarett Best, Ontario’s Minister of Consumer Services; Mr. Bas Balkissoon, MP; Hon. Jean Augustine, Ontario Fairness Commissioner and former federal cabinet minister; and former MPP Dr. Alvin Curling. Developing and refining judging criteria, coordinating judging and production of awards. Writing and developing media materials, media kits (USB keys), speaking notes and coordinating media interviews. Promoting the Rum & Rhythm event and securing interviews with Ed Hamilton, Ministry of Rum and Trevor Burnett, Tipicular Fixin’s. Attending the events and providing logistical support.

Caribbean Week in Toronto garnered 26 stories with an audience reach of 13,127,395. The Media Relations Rating Points Score was 78.46 percent.

Among other activities, Argyle Communications drafted a Best Practice document for use in future CTO conferences; created an affluent traveler research plan; developed a strategy to promote Caribbean tourism to intra- Caribbean audiences; and provided regular strategic communications counsel.

Thank You We recognize that this is the last marketing report that the CTO-USA will present in light of the decision to transition the marketing activities of the New York office to CTDC. I would like to express, on behalf of the staff in New York, our appreciation to the Board for recommending that the organization retains a presence in New York to continue to provide essential services to the membership. The staff pledges to continue to provide dedicated service to the Organization and its members and thank you.

As of July 1st, the following services will be carried out by CTO-USA, Inc. on behalf of its membership:

1. Membership Development and Services - increasing non-government membership and providing day to day services to the entire membership. 2. Enhanced Engagement with the Caribbean Diaspora by continuing to build on the relationship with the Caribbean Diaspora as ambassadors through face to face meetings and development of the website to serve their needs. 3. Maximize the number of scholarships offered by the CTO Foundations by exploring all avenues and opportunities to increase the funding and therefore the number of scholarships offered through the CTO Foundation and the CTO Scholarship Foundation, and begin to build a corpus. 4. Strengthen the CTO Chapter system in the US and Canada to ensure that value and services are provided to travel agents and other CTO members. 5. Provide greater advocacy/networking/strategic partnership engagements to benefit the organization with the specific objective of identifying sources of funding and building relationships that will redound to the benefit of members, in collaboration with headquarters. 6. Manage major trade and consumer shows on behalf of member countries, as requested, to create more impact for the region and to secure preferred rates and placement through economy of scale. 7. Manage major Conferences and special events that provide a benefit, as a rallying point for the membership and a source of revenue for the organization.

MARKETING – UK & EUROPE

UK & Europe Marketing Report September 2011 – April 2012

1. European Market Overview

The World Tourism Organisation has recently announced 4.4% increase in international tourist arrivals for 2011. This announcement was better than expected despite the on-going financial crisis in the European area, rise in fuel cost, passenger duty taxes, high inflation, unemployment, squeeze on household budgets and disposable incomes. Global arrivals are projected to increase further for this year which evidently shows the resilience of the holiday market. According to the ABTA consumer survey, one in five consumers is keen on taking foreign breaks and regard long haul trips as a necessity1.

Europeans travelled strongly in 2011 with outbound trips increasing by 4%. The average length of stay fell 5% to 7.6 nights and spending per trip declined 4% to €850 (IPK)2. Germany, Europe’s largest outbound market grew by 1%, and the number two, the UK, grew only 2% (IPK). There was similar low growth for France and Italy.

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the total number of visits abroad by UK residents, not seasonally adjusted, increased 1% during the 12 months ending in December 2011 compared with a year earlier (to 56.1 million). Holiday visits remained broadly the same (at 36.4 million); business visits increased 1% (to 6.7 million); visits to friends or relatives increased 5 per cent (to 11.4 million); and those for miscellaneous reasons decreased 10 per cent (to 1.5 million)3.

In the French Market, approximately 31.8 million French took a holiday in 2010, 2.8 million more than in 2009. Still according to Opodo-Raffour, long stays (more than 4 nights) have greatly increased (departure rate of 58%) 6% increase compared to 20094.

1 ABTA Travel Trends 2012 2 IPK - ITB World Travel Trends Report 2011/2012 3 Office for National Statistics Statistical Bulletin: Overseas Travel and Tourism-Dec 2011; Feb 2012 4 Visit Britain French Market and Trade Profile January 2012

In the first half of 2011, 22.6% of Italians booked a holiday with a travel agency compared to 26.3% in 20105. In the first eight months of 2011, the tourism industry recorded a decrease of 16% in demand for package tours. In particular, the summer of 2011 showed a decrease of 21% of travellers. According to Visit Britain’s Italian market profile report, the number of Italians who buy online continues to increase, especially with regard to holidays abroad.

In 2011, 33.9% of Dutch spent their holidays both in the Netherlands and abroad, 29.2% only went abroad and 18.8% stayed in the Netherlands for all their holidays in 20116.

Both the UNWTO and IPK predicted 3-4% increase in international arrivals for this year. However, consumers are more discerning on their holiday choices and seek more value for money as an important criterion when booking a holiday. Addition to this is the double inflation rise in Air Passenger Duty in the UK which came into effect in April this year which could put more pressure on the travel market.

The cruise industry globally has grown within the past years accounting for 35% growth between 2005 and 2010. According to IPK’s European Travel Monitor, the cruise sector in Europe symbolises 6.5 million holidays a year, or about 2% of all European holiday travel.

Cruise holidays are also projected to increase modestly to 1.73 million this year by UK travellers according to the Passenger Shipping Association estimates. However, the recent accidents with Costa Cruises could scupper the market. In Germany, the cruise market is still showing strong growth and the number of Germans going on a sea cruise grew by 16% to 1.6 million in 2010 (source: DRV cruise study 2010).

The Wedding and honeymoon market is also projected to increase this year. According to ABTA, weddings abroad is seen as a cheaper option to marrying in the UK which has an average cost of £20,000. A research by MINTEL in 2011 revealed that 1 in 5 couples (18%) now marry abroad. Foreign honeymoons are expected to grow in popularity this year. The desire to honeymoon abroad has risen significantly in the last two years - from 57% in 2008 to 70% in 2010 - while just 3% would like to honeymoon in the UK7.

5 Visit Britain Italian Market and Trade Profile January 2012 6 Visit Britain Dutch Market and Trade Profile January 2012 7 Mintel Oxygen Reports ‘The great escape - one in five weddings now take place abroad. Feb 2011

2. Activities September – December 2011

Caribbean Month, UK To kick start Caribbean Month, the CTO hosted an online competition on caribbean.co.uk, 1 September – 30 November. The competition received 6756 entries with 5632 third party opt ins. Prize sponsors were Discover Jamaica, Kuoni and Resort Marketing. CTO activities during Caribbean Month also included the launch of the Guide to the Caribbean 2012 and the Caribbean Wedding & Honeymoon Guide 2012.

50Plus Fair, Utrecht, Holland The 50Plus Fair took place in Utrecht on 13 – 18 September and was visited by 104,737 people in comparison to 98,221 in 2010.

The Caribbean Village comprised of four Caribbean participants (Aruba, Curaçao, Suriname and Bonaire).

The Scottish Wedding Show, Glasgow, Scotland The Scottish Wedding Show took place on 17 – 18 September. There were 3 participants in the CTO brochure bank system (St. Vincent & the Grenadines Tourist Office, Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board and Jamaica Tourist Board). Other Caribbean exhibitors at the Show were the Dominican Republic Tourist Board and Sandals Resorts. Over 8,000 visitors attended the Show.

Courses in the Caribbean, British Airways – Anguilla, Antigua, St Kitts & Nevis The CTO hosted its third Courses in the Caribbean Familiarisation Trip, in conjunction with British Airways, St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Nevis Tourism Authority, Anguilla Tourist Office and Antigua & Barbuda Tourist Board. This was an amazing 10 night trip, with 16 enthusiastic agents, exploring the Islands of St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and Antigua & Barbuda.

All agents completed a Courses in the Caribbean Workbook and were presented with a Certificate of Participation.

TOP RESA, France CTO participated at Top Resa trade show in Paris and shared with Anguilla, Jamaica and British Virgin Islands on the Caribbean Pavilion. Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Lucia, Bahamas, St. Martin, Dominican Republic and Cuba also exhibited. CTO organised a Caribbean cocktail reception for the tourism partners to network with the media. Over 27,500 visitors attended the Show.

National Wedding Show, London The National Wedding Show London is the UK’s largest Wedding Show held at Earl’s Court, 30 September – 2 October and attracted over 18,000 visitors. CTO co-shared with the Turks & Caicos Islands Tourist Board, Anguilla Tourist Board, Sirenis Hotels, Paradise Promotions and Caymanas Rum Cake – who organised rum cake samplings.

Four CTO members participated in the brochure bank - St. Vincent & The Grenadines Tourist Office, Jamaica Tourist Board, Complete Caribbean and Thomas Cook Signature.

Routes Berlin, Germany The 17th World Route Development Forum was held in Berlin, Germany from the 2 - 4 October. It offered destinations the opportunity to meet and make invaluable business contacts with key decision makers from over 300 of the world’s airlines. CTO, St. Vincent & The Grenadines and St. Maarten had space within the Caribbean stand, whilst other tourism delegates included the Bahamas Tourist Office, Barbados Tourism Authority, Jamaica Tourist Board and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.

TTG Incontri, Italy The leading Italian Tradeshow – TTG Incontri, took place in Rimini from 6 - 8 October. The CTO coordinated a Caribbean Pavilion and were joined by Cocos Hotel, Antigua; Jolly Beach Resort, Antigua, Press Tours (a leading Italian Tour Operator), Turks & Caicos Islands Tourist Board and SuperClubs Breezes Resorts & Spas. The Caribbean was also represented and showcased by the following member countries– Anguilla, Aruba, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique & the US Virgin Islands. The Show allowed the CTO and its participating members to interact and network with the Italian Market, whilst building new business relationships.

DIVE 2011 – NEC, Birmingham The CTO coordinated a Caribbean Village area at Dive 2011, which included 11 of its member countries. On-site bookings were also taken, by the Scuba Place, situated within the Caribbean area. The Caribbean Dive Guide was distributed from the CTO Stand and visitors were entertained by a Caribbean steelband. Dive 2011 attracted 15,456 visitors.

World Travel Market, London The Caribbean Village area at WTM 2011 had 30 exhibitors (WTM 2010 – 33 exhibitors) including National Tourist Offices and private sector partner. Hilton Caribbean sponsored the Caribbean Bar and the CTO stand hosted representatives from Liat Airlines and Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association. CTO coordinated several forums for member countries to meet with UK & European travel industry partner including the European Marketing Forum, Host & Reward the Media, CTO’s Director of Tourism European Update, Travel Agents Training Day, Caribbean Village Street party. A total of 47,776 industry participants with a total of 28,183 visitors Meridian Club members and trade professionals attended the Show.

International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), Cannes, France The CTO coordinated a Caribbean Pavilion at ILTM 2011, which it shared with 6 Caribbean industry partners – The Bahamas Tourist Office, Bermuda Department of Tourism, Canouan Resort & The Grenadines Estate Villas at Canouan Resort, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Saint Lucia Tourist Board and the Turks & Caicos Islands Tourist Board.

The exhibitors met with key international buyers to showcase their unique travel experiences and luxurious properties. 48,000 trade visitors attended the Show.

CTO UK Chapter Christmas Party The final event of the UK Chapter diary was the Christmas Party held at the Spiegel Saloon Restaurant and Bar at the annual Winter Wonderland event in Hyde Park on 13 December. Over 100 members of the Chapter attended this festive and relaxed event.

3. 2012 Activities - UK

Destinations Travel Show, London The CTO participated at Destinations Holiday and Travel Show which took place at Earls Court from 2 - 5 February. The show had a dedicated Caribbean area, which included Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Sandals & Beaches Resorts, St. Kitts and Trinidad & Tobago. The CTO stand was also shared by the following Caribbean exhibitors – Anguilla, Turks & Caicos and Harlequin Resorts. Brochures were distributed on behalf of the Bahamas, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Prestige Caribbean. The show was well attended, with over 32,000 visitors and the cold weather seemed to increase the number of visitors to the Caribbean area, all searching for some sunshine and warmth.

Destination Travel Show - Manchester This was the first Destinations show in Manchester and was held at EventCity. Trinidad and Tobago and Harlequin Resorts and Hotels shared the CTO stand at the weekend. Other Caribbean exhibitors at the Show were Virgin Holidays and Dominican Republic, Sandals and tour operators including Kuoni and Cox and Kings. The following Chapter Members supplied material for the brochure bank: Anguilla, Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. The organisers announced that 22,693 experienced the show over the 4 days.

Holiday World - Dublin Exhibitors in the Caribbean area included: Cuba Tourist Office, Barbados Tourism Authority and Almond Resorts, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts Aruba, Dominican Republic Tourist Board, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Sandals and Beaches Resorts. Anguilla, Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, Nisbet Plantation Beach Club and The Reefs Hotel & Club Bermuda participated in the brochure bank.

National Wedding Show Olympia, London The National Wedding Show Olympia took place on the 24 - 26 February. CTO shared with the Calabash Cove and the Jewel Resort, Rock Resort, Anguilla Tourist Board, Turks & Caicos Islands Tourist Board, Jamaica Tourist Board and the Saint Lucia Tourist Board. Brochure bank participants included Cox and Kings, Tropical Sky, Thomas Cook Signature, Prestige Caribbean, Bahamas Tourist Office, SuperClubs and the St. Vincent & The Grenadines Tourist Office.

Caymans Rum Cake sponsored Caribbean rum cakes which were sampled from the CTO stand at the Show. More than 12,000 visitors attended the Show.

PR Activities Four bgb secured a high profile five-day Caribbean giveaway in the Daily Mirror and the Daily Record, which ran in October 2011. In the run up to the competition, Four bgb liaised with the CTO and the newspaper regarding prizes, terms and conditions, copy and images from each of the participating members, airlines and the CTO.

Four bgb continue to be heavily involved with various CTO events. They followed up with media after a successful Rum and Rhythm by the Sea event in Brighton, which took place in August 2011. Four bgb coordinated submissions for the CTO journalism awards, which received over 100 submissions from national and regional media and showcased the very best of Caribbean journalism in the UK. The awards were held at Caribbean Scene Restaurant during World Travel Market in November and were attended by 44 key UK journalists. Four bgb also supported the CTO with the Caribbean Street Party and with media requests throughout WTM.

In other events, Four bgb is currently in the process of securing media for the annual Spring media networking event, which will be held on 29th May at Number 11 Cavendish Square. Four bgb also liaised extensively with the National Geographic Store regarding arrangements for a CTO photography exhibition during the London Olympics and assisted with ideas and key messages for the Hampton Court Garden Show, both of which have unfortunately been cancelled due to budget restrictions.

On the digital side, Four bgb has updated the CTO Crisis Communications document, incorporating a section on social media for the first time. Four bgb also came up with plans for a digital consumer campaign named “Love Caribbean” and is currently working with the CTO on the best way to integrate a consumer facing UK-specific digital campaign into their membership offering. Four bgb also provided advice and ideas for promoting the CTO’s Sustainable Tourism Conference via Twitter, suggesting different conversations to get involved with and different ways to engage with people who are interested in sustainable tourism.

The PR team has continued to support the CTO UK Chapter with the on-going fight against APD, ensuring that media receive speedy responses and up-to-date information on the CTO’s lobbying campaign, as well as ensuring access to a CTO spokesperson when comment is required. The estimated value of PR coverage between September 2011 and March 2012 is approximately £440,000 with a circulation of 104 million.

4. Activities Europe

Vakantiebuers, Utrecht, Holland Vakantiebuers 2012, the leading trade and consumer show for the Dutch market attracted 126,551 visitors to the 6 day show which is an increase of 3.4% compared to 2011.

The Caribbean Village area provided a central area with a stage for musical entertainment, a bar serving cocktails and Caribbean food and hosted the following Caribbean countries and private sector partners: Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Bruid & Bruidegom.nl, Curaçao, Cuba, CTO, Does Travel & Cadushi Tours, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Keis Caribbean, Maduro Travel, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Suriname.

Brussels Holiday Fair, Belgium The Brussels Holiday Fair 2012, the leading trade and consumer show in the Belgian market attracted 101,286 visitors to the fair, despite heavy snowfall and extremely cold temperatures. This led to a decrease of 9% of visitor numbers (113,978) from 2011.

The Caribbean Village area provided musical entertainment and a cocktail bar and hosted the following Caribbean countries and private sector partners: Aruba, Cuba, CTO, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Global Travel, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Suriname.

CTO also organised two events for the travel trade during the show: Caribbean Cocktail Party for the press and trade partners and Brussels Travel Top, a new B2B event for the travel professionals provided workshops, conferences and networking opportunities during the fair. CTO was invited to speak at this exclusive event and our presentation, titled “What’s New in the Caribbean” which included tips on how to sell the Caribbean, plus an update on all the new developments in the region was a success.

CTO supported Anguilla, Bahamas and St. Vincent & the Grenadines through the brochure bank option and Air Berlin Gmbh.

MATKA 2012, Helsinki, Finland The CTO attended the popular Finnish Fair, MATKA, which took place in Helsinki from 19 – 22 January 2012. The show was well attended with over 71,000 trade and consumer visitors. The CTO was joined by 4 member countries: Cuba Tourist Board, Curaçao Tourist Board, The Dominican Republic Tourist Board and Trinidad & Tobago Tourist Office. Anguilla and the Turks & Caicos Islands participated in the CTO brochure bank.

BIT, Milan, Italy CTO exhibited in Milan, from 16 - 19 February 2012, at BIT, the most important B2B and B2C show of the Italian market.

The CTO booth was located in the middle of pavilion 2, dedicated to “world countries”, and was surrounded by other destinations of the region, such as Anguilla, Aruba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Martin.

Nine partners representing the public and private tourism sectors joined the Village: The Turks & Caicos Islands Tourist Board, SuperClubs Resorts, Sandals & Beaches Resorts, the Italian tour operator Press Tours and Virgin Atlantic Airways. The U.S. Virgin Islands Tourist Board and the hotels Gansevoort Turks + Caicos and The Inn at English Harbour opted for the brochure bank service at CTO desk. Approximately 90,000 global visitors attended the show.

ITB Berlin, Germany ITB Berlin reported 113,006 trade visitors (39.7% of them abroad) an increase of 2,200 more than last year. Exhibitors also reported more signed contracts and an increase in the ITB Berlin Convention (over 17,000 visitors – 20% increase) where over 200 experts discussed strategies for achieving sustainability, current trends and examples of best practice.

Due to the economic challenges facing the Caribbean region several countries cancelled their stands at ITB this year, however the Caribbean was represented by 23 countries: Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos.

CTO also provided a new table and chair concept to accommodate the following private sector partners in the Caribbean Village area: Canouan Resort/Tamarind Beach Hotel; Harlequin Travel; Karibik Reisen, Grenada.

Dertour Gmbh/Meiers Weltreisen, one of the largest German tour operators specialising in the Caribbean, sponsored the Caribbean Bar in the Caribbean Village area for the sixth consecutive year. This area also allows Caribbean exhibitors to entertain their clients during the three trade days.

CTO also hosted its annual Media Awards, where over 50 entries were received. 30 journalists attended the Awards ceremony sponsored by TUI, Condor Airlines, Almond Beach Resorts and Blue Waters Resort, Antigua. The Awards were in 4 categories: Print, Print-Magazine, TV and Internet.

European Roadshows - France The CTO held its first set of European Roadshows for 2012, in France, from 20 - 22 March. The CTO team was joined by members who travelled from Paris, to Lyon and on to Nice, meeting and networking with French Tour Operators, Travel Agents and Press. The show in Paris was supported by 14 of the CTO’s members, which were Anguilla, Bahamas, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, AM Resorts, Harlequin Resorts, Sandals & Beaches Resorts, Sirenis Hotels & Resorts, Air France and XL Airways.

There was an attendance of nearly 140 delegates, who interacted and networked with the CTO and its partners. The night began with a welcome from Carol Hay, Director of Marketing for UK & Europe and a small introduction from each of the partners. It continued with a number of productive meetings and concluded with a grand prize draw, whereby grand prizes were offered by Air France, XL Airways, Sirenis Hotels & Resorts and AM Resorts.

The Roadshow continued in Lyon, with 6 destinations, 4 hotel partners and 1 airline which were Anguilla, Barbados, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, AM Resorts, Harlequin Resorts, Sandals & Beaches Resorts, Sirenis Hotels & Resorts and XL Airways.

The show had a similar format and was attended by close to 80 participants, who once again, networked with the participating exhibitors. Barbados Tourism Authority (Almond Resorts), XL Airways and Sirenis Hotels & Resorts kindly supplied the Grand Prizes in this town.

The final show took place in Nice and was attended by nearly 60 agents and 11 Caribbean partners participated, from 6 destinations, 4 hotels and resorts and 1 airline including Anguilla, Barbados, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, AM Resorts, Harlequin Resorts, Sandals & Beaches Resorts, Sirenis Hotels & Resorts and British Airways. The grand prize was kindly supplied by British Airways and Almond Resorts (courtesy of Barbados Tourism Authority).

The Roadshows went very well and partners have advised that they held positive and productive meetings and made many new contacts. The next set of shows will take place in Italy from 15 - 17 May 2012, visiting Turin, Rome and Bari.

German Market Caribbean Magazine The 52 pages full coloured magazine promoting the region has been produced in co-operation with AGK, (a German association representing Caribbean destinations as well as private sector companies). 172,000 copies has been distributed as supplement in travel magazines (trade and consumer), and on trade fairs in major German cities. Many readers requested additional information on the Caribbean and participated in a competition to win a trip to the Caribbean. The next edition will be published in September 2012.

CTO German Website Being the most comprehensive internet portal focussing on the region, the CTO’s German website (www.karibik-info.de) is still performing tremendously.

Within the four-months-period September to December 2011 (in comparison to the previous year) web visits showed a considerable increase of 63%. In February 2012, for the first time ever, the number of visitors (within a four week period) exceeded the range of 8,000.

Monthly Consumer Newsletter In addition to the well performing website the number of subscribers of CTO’s monthly German consumer newsletter is also increasing. From March 2010 to March 2012 the relevant mailing list showed a growth of 127%.

Italian Market Monthly Newsletter All Italian tour operators featuring the Caribbean and the CTO NTOs in Italy receive a monthly communication from Interface Tourism, CTO representative in Italy, inviting to send information and offers for the newsletters and website.

Radio and TV Interview On the 9 January 2012 Caribbean Tourism Organization was guest of Radio Reporter, broadcasted in the North regions of Italy. On 16 March 2012 CTO participated in the TV version of ExploraCafé, broadcasted on the local tv Rete 55 (North West of Italy).

CTO was invited by Mr Moreno Rognoni, marketing director of the tour operator Press Tours. It was a great opportunity to reach a good number of listeners and speak for an hour about the uniqueness of Caribbean destinations.

Kuoni Best Tours Event CTO sponsored the Kuoni - Best Tours event in Milan, dedicated to Mexico and Caribbean Destinations.

Travel agents from Milan and Northern cities were invited to the event.

CTO sponsored the gift, which was branded with the CTO logo. CTO’s logo was also present on the official invitation of the event and on the presentation shown during the evening. The Italian Roadshow is planned for 15 - 17 May 2012. CTO was named “Best Partner” of the event.

Dutch Market Caribbean Media Workshop The annual Caribbean Media workshop “Taste the Caribbean” was held at restaurant La Margarita in Amsterdam on 25 October 2011. Thirty Journalists attended the workshop.

Participating partners: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, St. Maarten, Keis & Caribbean Charter. The workshop was followed by the Caribbean Travel Writers Award.

The Dutch Roadshow is planned for 22 – 24 May 2012.

RESEARCH & INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

RESEARCH & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIVISION

Work Completed: October, 2011 – April, 2012

1. TOURISM SATELLITE ACCOUNTS (TSA) ACTIVITY

# In October 2011 a formal proposal was submitted to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to provide funding for the OECS member countries (Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines) to participate in the implementation of a Regional Tourism Satellite Account. Additionally, OECS Associate member countries (Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands) will also be included in this exercise. The proposal is in its final stages of internal preparation within CDB and is expected to be submitted for approval by the board in July 2012.

# Having satisfied all the conditions stipulated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the CTO received the first disbursement of funds in November 2011 to initiate the first phase of the Regional Tourism Satellite Account.

# In January 2012 the procurement process for the hiring of the first consultant for the IDB funded TSA commenced. A Terms of Reference was drafted and submitted to the IDB for approval. A consultant was identified and the necessary paper work is currently in process for an estimated start in May, 2012.

# In March 2012, there was a meeting between the CTO research team and the Statistics Division of CARICOM. The meeting clarified the understanding of how cooperation between the two agencies would work in provision of human and financial resources to assist with the development and sustainability of the Regional Tourism Satellite Account system.

2. CORPORATE AND CONSUMER INTERNET SITE ACTIVITY

Further work carried out for the sites during this period included:

# Customer relationship software - Microsoft Dynamics CRM purchased and intranet administration in process of learning and implementing software as tool to facilitate management of CTO’s vast online database.

# Input given regularly into development work on the new CaribbeanTravel.com.

# Input given into production of CTO 50 minute documentary – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean.

# Google+ button added to OneCaribbean.org.

# Content and design revised on CaribbeanSTC.com and OneCaribbean.org for the 2012 conferences – Sustainable Tourism Development, Tourism Human Resources and State of the Industry Conference.

# Content on various projects e.g. CHENACT updated on corporate site. Usual content updates to the 2012 calendar of events, technical committee data, CTO events and membership only data.

# Online surveys prepared, loaded, collected and processed for State of Industry Conference 2011, STC 2012.

# CTO annual State of the Industry Conference streamed live online and content posted on corporate website in first quarter 2012.

# TSA webinar meetings held regularly; webinar arranged for CDEMA.

# Overall management of CTO domains, PayPal accounts.

# Ongoing management of CTO’s LiveMocha Language training programme.

# Support and assistance given to HR department on design and functionality of HA calendar, HA website and social media operations for hospitalityassuredcaribbean.com, which is being managed externally.

# Placement of job vacancy notices of member countries (Grenada) on OneCaribbean.org

# Content (speeches, videos, photos) from STC-13 and other events added to OneCaribbean.org, CTO Google Picassa and YouTube accounts.

# Promotional country videos added to CTO’s YouTube accounts.

# Promotional content added to CTO’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

# Video content of CTO annual media conference and APD documentary included on corporate site and YouTube.

Site Ranking

# OneCaribbean.org maintains its position at Google PageRank of 6 out of 10. This makes the site a highly desirable potential link partner and promoter. There has been a significant increase in the number of requests for links and ad placement.

# Content on CTO’s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts was updated regularly. On Facebook, CTO has 2143 fans; on Twitter – 2631 followers. On Youtube, there were 20, 831 views of videos on the CTO channel during the reporting period. The top three videos were: Suriname promotional video, Cayman Islands promotional video and STC-13 Guyana video.

3. VISITOR SURVEY ACTIVITIES

Visitor Exit Surveys and Information Processing:

Processed the data from the Guyana VEMS 2010/201. Resulted in the production of 950+ monthly and quarterly tables.

Processing of Barbados' surveys for the 4th Quarter 2011/ 1st Quarter 2012 Stay-over and Cruise surveys. Generation of 2011 annual statistics Stay-over and Cruise surveys.

Completed October – December 2011 and January – March 2012 rounds of the Barbados Stay-over and Cruise Passenger Surveys.

Completed estimates of Barbados Stay-over Visitor and Cruise passenger Expenditure third and fourth quarters 2011.

Assisted Discover Dominica Authority with the design of the survey instrument for the LIAT on-board survey. Conducted the LIAT on-board survey at the Grantley Adams International Airport.

4. Tourism Statistics for Region

Regular coordination, collection and publication of tourism statistics for the region continued to be undertaken by the division during the review period. Tourism statistics were posted on Onecaribbean.org as they came to hand. An increasing number of member countries seem to be challenged in producing timely data. These challenges are not limited to any one sub-regional grouping.

The Caribbean Tourism Performance Review and Prospects (2011-2012) was presented at the annual State of the Industry Press Conference.

The individual country tables were revised and updated (2010) and posted on the corporate website (www.onecaribbean.org ). The tables here include Arrival by Country of Residence; Monthly Tourist Arrivals and Cruise Passenger Arrivals; Rooms in Tourist Accommodations and Visitor Profiles.

The most recent arrivals statistics for 2011 & 2012 have been published in the respective Latest publication. During the period under review, the objective of two reports per month has not been met due to the slow response from member countries. All available data reside on Onecaribbean.org.

Annual Questionnaires (2011) sent via email to NTOs and CSOs in the member countries for completion with a return date of 4th May, 2011. Follow-up activities are ongoing.

Continued to identify and access wider sources of socio-economic data and databases: - Central Banks, other central government agencies (e.g. Ministries of Finance) and regional and international organizations, (ECCB, UNWTO, ILO, World Bank).

5. MIST ACTIVITIES

A review of the MIST system and its performance was conducted since the MIST application has come under some strain as the underlying software and hardware have been quickly evolving. The respondents generally felt that the system should be upgraded to operate on the new platforms (SQL Server 2008/2012, Windows 7 etc.) while streamlining the data transfers from remote sites to the central processing and enhancing the data warehousing and web-based facilities. Resources are being sought to facilitate the necessary work.

Assisted members on request.

6. Internships, Organizational Attachments, etc.

Supervised two students from the Computer Studies division of the Barbados Community College. Their main task was the creation of an application to store and retrieve the Curriculum Vitae received by the organization.

Organized and facilitated a one week educational tour/workshop for 30 students and 3 teachers of the Maris Stella Hospitality School of Curaçao.

Facilitated a tourism research internship for one student of the Breda University, Netherlands.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications Report Sept 2011 to April/May 2012

Summary of the Work Plan As the CTO continues to place a high level of importance on public relations/outreach, particularly on behalf of the “Caribbean” and member countries, a large part of the Communications Division’s programme for 2011- 2012 will focus on extending the reach and impact of CTO events, as well as those of its membership. As part of this thrust, we will continue to place emphasis on our relationship with the regional and international media, the various CTO stakeholders both in the public and private sectors, and we will strengthen our online presence.

Introduction In keeping with the Communications Division’s work plan, a great deal of time was spent on public relations, including expanding our database of journalists. However, media training and training in crisis communications also featured prominently. Also, a growing number of member countries utilized our services to distribute information on their behalf.

Strengthening Online Presence We’ve redesigned the CTO News newsletter to include video, which makes it a lot more attractive. It’s also more user-friendly. The reviews have been positive, as the following note from one subscriber in German will show: Dear Johnson,

“Thanks for the regular news-update, there's always a lot of useful stuff! I was just wondering - is there a possibility for journalists to subscribe to the CTO- news other than checking the website? Can I forward them? I'm in contact with quite a few Caribbean-interested trade press journalists here and they would certainly profit from getting your newsletter as well.”

Best, Mit freundlichen Grüßen Kathinka Gode

The communications specialist has also begun making greater use of CTO TV on YouTube, posting CTO-related videos, including presentations at events, on the channel more frequently and, many times, during the event. During the recently concluded 13th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-13) in Guyana, for example, video footage of presentations by the keynote speaker, the former president, Bharrat Jagdeo, as well as other speakers, were uploaded to the site almost immediately after the presentations.

Still to be done are the production of a platform which allows for subscribers to receive updates via rss feeds and the development of the celebrity map. This, hopefully, will be achieved during the next cycle, if funding can be accessed.

Monitor global and Caribbean tourism developments and keep membership informed The communications specialist continued to source and distribute to the membership, the wealth of tourism news information out there, to assist the membership with important research to inform the decision-making process. For example, the communications specialist subscribed to Airline Weekly, a publication that provides the latest information on the aviation industry, and distributes to the membership.

Provide Media Support for Member Countries The communications specialist worked closely with PR representatives representing some member countries, as well as with officials in other countries, including some directors of tourism, to provide promotional support for these countries. During the reporting period, an increasing number of member countries, including Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda and Dominica, took advantage of this service. Through our effective distribution system, the communications specialist secured extensive media coverage for these and other member countries.

In addition, the communications specialist coordinated the inclusion of events being held by member countries, on the CTO corporate site, www.onecaribbean.org and the developing, but yet to be officially launched, Diaspora site, www.onecaribbeandiapora.com.

Still to come: Working with Jamaica to have Caribbean media at the 2012 Tourism Summit & Outlook Seminar

Improve the Positive Profile of CTO & the Caribbean Raising the profile of CTO is a continuing exercise. During the reporting period, different approaches were used towards this end. The communications specialist, as a member of the board of directors of the African Diaspora Heritage Trail (ADHT) Bermuda Foundation, secured a speaking spot for the CTO chairman at the ADHT annual conference in Nova Scotia, Canada. The communications specialist also spoke at that conference, where he exposed delegates to the CTO and the work that it does.

The communications specialist negotiated with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) and secured four 90-minute live call-in programmes during which the organization’s programmes are being discussed. Two programmes have already been broadcast, with the remaining two to be done within the coming months. The first programme looked at the importance of tourism to the Caribbean and the role the CTO plays as the region’s tourism development agency, while the second one explored the Total Visitor Satisfaction initiative.

During the reporting period, the communications specialist produced a series of 30-minute special programmes on the CTO and its member countries’ participation in a number of international events. These programmes are very instrumental in demonstrating to the audience in the region how hard their tourism representatives work to promote their destinations in order to remain competitive. Our members welcome this initiative and are very supportive. During the reporting period, an increasing number of television stations have been requesting that we add them to our distribution list so they can broadcast these specials, which they all say are very professionally done and are attractive to their audiences. And some of them are encouraging other stations to carry these programmes.

In addition, the communications specialist recently held negotiations with One Caribbean Television/WSEE (a CBS affiliate) recently for airing these and other CTO programmes in their markets, after they approached for rights to broadcast the programmes produced by the communications specialist.

These specials are placed on CTO TV on www.onecaribbean.org and are shared on Facebook.

In addition to the television specials, information is sent back to the Caribbean daily from these events, strengthening the public relations value to CTO and its member countries. Again, an increasing number of media houses and journalists – as well as CTO member countries – are looking forward to receiving these daily reports and the response is extremely positive. This short note from Janet Silvera, a journalist at the Jamaica Gleaner after sharing an interview with the chairman of the Trinidad & Tobago Tourism Development Company at ITB Berlin, captures the feelings of the media on this:

“Johnson, just want you to know that you are a champion.”

During the reporting period, the 12th edition of the Caribbean Air Rally was held. The communications specialist has been encouraging member countries to participate and, although participation is still far below what is desired, a small number of countries joined this year. The communications specialist will continue to work with the organizers and member countries to expand the programme.

Establishing and building relationships with international organizations is another method used in raising CTO’s profile and that of its member countries. And, during the reporting period, the communications specialist initiated discussions with representatives from the University of South Florida, in an attempt to establish a working relationship that will benefit CTO member countries. The initial talks resulted in immediate benefits, as USF provided support for the recent Sustainable Tourism Conference, by planning and executing one of the sessions and covering the presenters’ costs. Subsequently, the CTO’s sustainable tourism product specialist was invited to present at a USF conference on sustainable tourism (USF covered her costs) where she highlighted some of the initiatives in member countries. This relationship will result in a number of future opportunities for CTO member countries.

Still to come: The communications specialist has initiated discussions with the new head of the International Downtown Association who is eager to work closely with us for the benefit of the memberships of both organizations. However, the signing of a revised MOU remains pending and is expected to take place within the coming months.

Continue to Build Relationship with Regional Media Caribbean The list of media with whom we communicate continues to expand as the communications specialist seeks to get more Caribbean journalists to understand the importance of tourism to the region and to provide more extensive coverage of tourism. Also, many more Caribbean journalists are reaching out to the communications specialist for assistance with stories on tourism. This is due in part to the training workshops organized and conducted by the communications specialist, in collaboration with CTO member countries.

During the reporting period, the communications specialist conducted two such workshops – in Dominica and in Grenada. The Grenada workshop, which was supported by the Grenada Board of Tourism, as well as Liat, which provided air fare, involved 10 regional journalists and five Grenadians, who received training in several areas, including crisis and disaster reporting and journalism ethics. There was a competitive element where participants were mandated to submit their published and broadcast features on Grenada. The submitted stories showed that Grenada received extensive positive coverage as a result of hosting the workshop.

The Dominica course, on the other hand, was organized by the Discover Dominica Authority for local journalists only. Similar topics were covered during the workshop which resulted in some excellent features about the island. The DDA presented awards to two of the participants – one for best news story and one for best overall feature – at its recently held tourism awards ceremony.

These courses are of tremendous benefit to CTO member countries and result in both positive coverage of the destination during and immediately following the course, and in the establishment of a positive relationship between the journalists and the various tourist boards. The following comment from this journalist who participated in the Dominica workshop is reflective of the feedback that we receive:

“Hi Johnson. Thank you so much for the knowledge I have gained over the 3 days of attending the media workshop. It is my desire to keep learning and I eagerly anticipate opportunities to learn more.

You are a wonderful facilitator. May God continue to bless you on your journeys. Take care. Thanks for the videos and hand outs.

Sincerely Myrtle Bruno”

Formalizing relationship with Caribbean Diaspora During the reporting period, the communications specialist continued developing a Diaspora programme aimed at benefiting both Caribbean nationals living overseas and member countries. The Rediscover Home programme contains several elements, including the development of the website. Work is being done to populate it in preparation for a media launch. In addition, the communications specialist, working with the director of marketing for the Americas, is exploring the most efficient and effective ways for the site to generate revenue for the CTO. Over the next few weeks we will begin to engage help to sell various segments of the site. The site has tremendous potential as a central point for everything related to the Diaspora, including helping to promote programmes in CTO member countries, as well as a revenue generator for the CTO to help support its developmental programmes.

In addition to the site, we have been working with a Diaspora company to develop a rewards card for the Diaspora for use in the Caribbean.

Engaging Diaspora leaders and members of the Caribbean Diaspora in general, is a continuing process, and there has been more demand by the Diaspora leaders for us to engage them directly. In this regard, the communications specialist met with a large group of Diaspora leaders in Toronto in December, where he presented plans for the Rediscover Home programme. Everyone in attendance was excited about the proposed programme and is eager to assist in making it a reality. Also, Diaspora leaders in Boston, Mass, have offered to work with CTO in organizing a Caribbean tourism fair in that city.

During the reporting period, the communications specialist continued to expand the database of Caribbean nationals living overseas and is keeping them informed of developments regarding CTO and its member countries. For this, they are grateful, and many of them have supported member country events in their cities as a result.

Still to come: 1. Meetings with Diaspora leaders in various US cities to get them to support the Rediscover Home programme. 2. Caribbean Diaspora Forum at Caribbean Week in New York 3. Diaspora Conference in St. Kitts, 14 and 15 October, 2012

Crisis Mitigation and Communication During the reporting period, the communications specialist conducted a media relations and crisis communications workshop for the Barbados Tourism Authority at the invitation of the BTA. About a dozen senior BTA staff participated in the two-day workshop, which elicited very positive feedback.

The communications specialist also conducted an introduction to crisis communications seminar for National Tourist Office representatives in Toronto, which also received positive feedback.

Still to come: 1. Similar workshops in Dominica, Grenada and St. Eustatius. 2. Introduction to crisis communications seminar for NTOs in New York

Other

Executed a media plan for STC-13 in Guyana, which has resulted in extensive coverage for both the destination and the Caribbean. Articles are still being published at the time of writing this report. In addition, produced a special issue of CTO News daily, during the conference. Also, distributed video and photos regularly, which helped with the coverage from media who were not present Executed a similar media plan for the State of the Industry conference in St. Martin Supported and spoke at the Caribbean Media Exchange in Sustainable Tourism (CMex) in the USVI Actively involved in planning and marketing Caribbean Week in New York

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DIVISION Sustainable Tourism Product Specialist’s Report September 2011 – May 2012

1. Summary

The last Report to the Sustainable Tourism Technical Committee and the CTO Board of Directors covered the period May – August 2011. The major work activities implemented since then are outlined below.

2. Main Activities Executed

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

. Sustainable Tourism Development Conference (STC)

The Government of Guyana hosted CTO’s 13th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-13) from April 15-18, 2012 at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Georgetown, Guyana. The theme was “Keeping the Right Balance: Sustaining Our Resources”. The conference proceedings from the panel discussions, special presentations and workshops are available for downloading via the conference website (www.CaribbeanSTC.com). Delegates also had the opportunity to undertake study tours to the interior of Guyana as well as to Georgetown and other coastal areas to learn about Guyana’s sustainable tourism products and projects. It should be noted that for the first time, STC included a “Going Green Invest Caribbean Now” forum which focused on opportunities in renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Caribbean. STC-14 will be hosted by Trinidad and Tobago in 2013 at a date to be announced. Both Belize and Anguilla have expressed interest in hosting STC-15 in 2014. Further discussions with the governments of both countries will take place concerning the hosting of STC-15 and STC-16.

. Sustainable Tourism Development Technical Committee (STTC)

A meeting of the CTO STTC was held on Sunday April 15th, 2012 at The Princess Hotel, Georgetown, Guyana. This meeting provided an opportunity to share updates on sustainable tourism projects and other initiatives being implemented by both the CTO Secretariat and in Member countries. At this meeting, a new Chairperson (Courtwright Marshall – Antigua and Barbuda) and Vice Chairperson (Brian Been – Turks and Caicos Islands) were elected. The outgoing Chairperson is Earlston McPhee – The Bahamas and Ena Harvey – IICA, Costa Rica. The STTC agreed to meet again in May to follow up on some ideas that emanated from STC-13.

. UNEP-CTO Caribbean High Level Sustainable Tourism Symposium Project

In December, 2011, the United Nations Environment Programme’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (UNEP-DTIE) and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) signed a Small Scale Funding Agreement (SSFA/2011/Tourism). This Agreement defines a cooperative initiative between UNEP-DTIE and CTO to execute the “Caribbean High Level Symposium” project.

The overall objective of this UNEP-CTO project is to assess CTO member country sustainable tourism-related priority needs and current and past institutional sustainable tourism programming and investment. This will also include the organization and convening of a participatory high-level regional Symposium and consultation process to discuss identified needs. Ongoing project activities include the conduct of a sustainable tourism-focused survey of a sample of CTO Member countries, related desk research by the project consultants and the planning of the Symposium which will take place in the last quarter of 2012.

IUCN Hotels and Biodiversity Project

The STPS also provided support to IUCN, Switzerland for its 2012 publication “Biodiversity: My Hotel in Action – A guide to the sustainable use of biological resources in the Caribbean” which was endorsed by CTO. The biodiversity principles included in this publication were the focus of an STC-13 workshop.

. Promoting Responsible and Sustainable Tourism

The second Quarterly edition of the CTO-TravelMole VISION Expressed e- newswire was published in January, 2012. It contains articles focusing on diverse aspects of sustainable tourism in the Caribbean including projects, products and initiatives that were submitted by the CTO Secretariat and its Members. It was circulated to both the CTO and TravelMole databases which include a global audience of 250,000 travel agents and tour operators. The newswires can be accessed via TravelMole’s and CTO’s websites and Members are encouraged to circulate the newsletters to their respective databases. We are inviting continuous submissions of articles for upcoming editions.

At STC-13, Awards and Special Mention certificates were presented to the winners and finalists of the CTO-TravelMole Sustainable Tourism Awards 2012 competition. These Awards are aimed at identifying, recognizing and showcasing sustainable tourism best practices in the Caribbean which embrace sustainable tourism concepts and core values and help to enhance the tourism product offerings. For the first time, several new categories were introduced. This year’s judges were: Gail Henry (Sustainable Tourism Product Specialist - CTO); Jacqueline Kuehnel, Principal - JK Consulting Enterprises, Canada; and Andrew Rhikkie Alexander (Eco-agro Community Participation Tourism Specialist – Nature’s Consultancy, Caribbean). The winners are as follows:

 Caribbean Excellence in Sustainable Tourism (CEST):- Rupununi Learners Inc. (Guyana)  Sustainable Accommodation: - Accra Beach Hotel & Spa (Barbados)  Community Benefit: - Iwokrama (Guyana)  Heritage Protection: - Kalinago Barana Aute (Dominica)  Biodiversity Conservation: - Mangrove Restoration Women Producers (Guyana)

Special Mention certificates were also awarded as follows:

 Caribbean Excellence in Sustainable Tourism – Hotel Mockingbird Hill (Jamaica)  Sustainable Accommodation – Hotel Mockingbird Hill (Jamaica); The Tryall Club (Jamaica)  Community Benefit – The Bahamas National Coastal Awareness Committee (The Bahamas); Mero Enhancement Committee (Dominica)

 Heritage Protection – Colours Entertainment & Junkanoo Organization/Ambasah (Band) (The Bahamas)  Biodiversity Conservation – Caribbean Research & Management of Biodiversity Foundation (CARMABI) (Curaçao); Jakes Hotel, Villas and Spa (Jamaica)

Members will be invited to submit nominations for the 2013 edition of our Sustainable Tourism Awards and notified of the deadline for entering the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2013 once announced. Further information on these Awards are available on www.CaribbeanSTC.com and www.tourismfortomorrow.com respectively. The STPS was again appointed as a judge for the Destination Stewardship category for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. WTTC has a global Best Practice Gateway through which CTO Members can access and submit sustainable travel and tourism best practice case studies via http://www.wttc.org/eng/Best_Practice_Gateway.

. Sustainable Tourism Capacity Building Workshops and Webinars

During STC-13 in Guyana, the following workshops were staged:

- How to Craft, Deliver & Market Customer-Centric Sustainable Tourism Products - Judy Karwacki – President, Small Planet Consulting Inc., Canada - Building and Operating Biodiversity Friendly Hotels in the Caribbean - Giulia Carbone – Deputy Head, Global Business and Biodiversity Programme, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Switzerland - Adventures in Sustainability - Antonio del Rosal – Executive Director - Latin America, Adventure Travel Trade Association, Mexico - Agro & Culinary Toursim – Getting to the Next Level - Ena Harvey – Management Coordinator – Caribbean Region and Agrotourism Specialist, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Costa Rica

The following sustainable tourism live webinars have been offered free of charge to CTO Members as part of the CTO webinar series with the support of Sustainable Travel International – a CTO Member.

- The Sustainability Factor: Effective Marketing Communications Without Going Broke - Eco Certification: Trends, Benefits and ROI

- Finding Your Voice: Creating Strong Bonds with Your Customers via Social Media - After The Honeymoon: Keeping Your Social Media Audience Engaged for the Long Term - Sustainability Management 101: Ready, Set, Action! - Corporate Responsibility Reporting in Travel and Tourism - STI Program Overview and 2012 Preview - STEP Dive Center Standard and Framework - Sustainability Story: Entry-Level Tools to Support Your Operations and Marketing - Next Generation Tools for Sustainable Destination Management - Understand Your Impacts and Invest In The Future: STI's Carbon and Philanthropy Programs - Experiential Travel: Differentiating Your Destination While Spreading the Benefits to Communities

Webinar recordings are also available to interested CTO Members upon request:

Similarly, through the Responsible Travel and Tourism Forum – Canada (http://www.rttf.ca/webinars/), CTO Members can access the following webinars from 2011:

- Introduction to Sustainable Tourism Practices - Sustainable Tourism Destination Best Practices - Green Accommodation - Transportation: impacts, solutions and alternatives - Adventure Travel - Voluntourism: travel with purpose

CTO Members are invited to submit an indication of other webinar topics of interest.

Since June 2012, the STPS also participated in the following events including:

Barbados Green Economy Scoping Study Stakeholder meeting Fully Accessible Barbados Inclusive Tourism conference Greening Tobago Conference (conducted a presentation on Barbados’ green economy initiative) Clean Development Mechanism DNA workshop, Trinidad

Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum 2011, Barbados

The SPS submitted articles on different sustainable tourism issues affecting the Caribbean to various regional and international publications and websites.

. Agro and Culinary Tourism Product Development

Under the OAS-funded “Gastronomic Product Development and Promotion for Caribbean Destinations – Developing the Tourism Industry Human Resources”, an introductory workshop on agro and culinary tourism took place at STC-13 in Guyana. During the workshop, participants expressed keen interest in the development and promotion of culinary tourism in the Caribbean and made several recommendations for further discussion with the STTC Members, including the establishment of a Caribbean Culinary Tourism Alliance. The project will take this feedback into consideration as far as is feasible and the establishment of a Culinary Tourism Sub-Committee of the STTC will be considered. Further culinary tourism training opportunities are envisaged and the research aspect of the project which will establish the scope and potential for culinary tourism products, is expected to begin by July. Discussions are scheduled to be held with potential donors to obtain additional funding for the implementation of this project given that the OAS funding received was considerably less than anticipated.

The project’s overall objective is to facilitate the diversification of the Caribbean tourism product centered on the agro, cultural and cultural tourism niches in order to enhance the socio-economic benefits of tourism at the regional, national and community levels. This project will seek to build on the results of the (CTO, CARICOM Secretariat, IICA, OAS and Government of Barbados supported) agrotourism workshop which took place in Barbados from 19-22 September, 2011.

DISASTER RISK MANGEMENT

. Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Mainstreaming

Regional Monitoring and Evaluation System for Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation in the Tourism Sector

This project is being executed by CDEMA with implementation support from CTO, funding from IDB and in-kind contributions from CDEMA Participating States.

The Board of Management and Technical Advisory Committees for this project have been meeting regularly since its launch in April 2011 to discuss technical and operational aspects of project implementation. The Project will contribute to the mainstreaming of CDM in the tourism sector in the Caribbean through the establishment of a regional monitoring, evaluation and reporting information system for DRM and climate change adaptation as a regional public good (RPG).

National stakeholder meetings have been held in at least eight of the beneficiary countries: Jamaica, Barbados, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis and the British Virgin Islands. Meetings in Guyana and The Bahamas were still outstanding at the time of submission of this Report. The Bahamas’ meeting is scheduled for 31st May, 2012. The national stakeholders meetings are designed to sensitize relevant stakeholders about the project and to garner support for the Regional Disaster Risk Management Strategy and Action Plan for the Tourism Sector that was developed under the previous Phase of the project. Under the current Phase of the project, climate change adaptation will be factored in to the Strategy and Plan.

CLIMATE CHANGE

At the Twenty-Third Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), 8 – 9 March, 2012, in Paramaribo, Suriname, the Heads of Government approved the "Implementation Plan for the Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to Climate Change". This Plan defines the Region’s strategic approach for coping with climate change for the period 2011 – 2021. The Executive Summary can be downloaded via: http://caribbeanclimate.bz. As part of CTO’s continued commitment to bring attention to climate change- related issues as they impact tourism, during STC-13, two climate change-focused panel discussions were included:

1. Climate Change Adaptation – Educating and Innovating for Tourism Sustainability 2. Climate Change Adaptation – Reducing the Vulnerability of Caribbean Tourism Infrastructure

The panelists were drawn from within the Caribbean region and outside and delegates learned about relevant research, climate change-related initiatives in the Caribbean and outside e.g. the Blue Community Initiative involving the U. of South Florida and Disney and were provided with an overview of critical issues that Caribbean destinations should be addressing as well as recommendations for doing so. Members are encouraged to review the presentations via www.CaribbeanSTC.com and to contact the panelists directly if further assistance or information is required.

At the invitation of the U. of South Florida, the STPS attended the Coastal Cities Summit, St. Petersburg, Florida from 30th April – 3rd May, 2012 and conducted a presentation on “Governmental Initiatives and Sustainable Tourism in the Caribbean.” As a result of discussions held during STC-13 and at the Summit, the U. of South Florida and other organizations based in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area have expressed a keen interest in discussing further and partnering with CTO on several proposed initiatives including:

- Assisting us to pursue Caribbean promotional and investment opportunities with Epcot Center (specifically, the establishment of a Caribbean Pavilion in the World Showcase), Disney Cruise Lines, Disney Vacation resorts and Vacation Adventures in Caribbean destinations - USF graduate students doing internships/practical research in the Caribbean at no cost to CTO Members - Hosting a sustainable tourism event at Walt Disney World, Orlando given Disney’s sustainable tourism interest and practices - Offering free access to CTO Members to an established website for promoting sustainable tourism initiatives in the Caribbean - HRD opportunities for Caribbean nationals with the U. of South Florida and with UWI - Joint marine conservation initiatives involving Caribbean youth - Linking CTO with a Caribbean diaspora organization in the Tampa area - Other opportunities to learn from the Caribbean experience in sustainable tourism development.

It is suggested that these ideas be discussed further so that comprehensive feedback can be provided to USF and the necessary follow up steps initiated.

CARIBSAVE Climate Change Film Series Project

CARIBSAVE has launched in Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana, its Partnership for Resilience – Climate Change Film Series for awareness raising, education and capacity building in communities and governments across the region. The 3 short films in the series “Partnerships for Resilience “were produced by The CARIBSAVE Partnership in collaboration with regional organisations in order to promote public awareness of the threats posed by climate change in the Caribbean and of the importance of developing and implementing adaptation strategies. The three high quality films are entitled: "Climate Change and Caribbean Tourism"; "Caribbean Fish Sanctuaries"; and "Living Shorelines". The series highlights adaptation actions from across the region that are reducing the vulnerability of communities to the many direct and indirect impacts of climate change, and, in so doing, strengthening the resilience of the economy, society and environment of the Caribbean region. Dissemination of the films will take place on local and regional television and in communities across the region. This project is funded by UKAID, AusAID, the Travel Foundation and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

The CTO STPS attended the Barbados launch and was part of the panel discussion after the films were shown. The three films can be accessed via http://www.youtube.com/user/Caribsave). Members are encouraged to promote and utilize them as widely as possible. CTO also included Dr. Owen Day of The CARIBSAVE Partnership (with CARIBSAVE support) on one of the STC-13 Climate Change Panels during which the tourism-focused film was shown. STC-13 delegates were also invited to attend the film series launch at Cara Lodge, Guyana on the evening of April 17th.

CHENACT – Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency Action Program and Advanced Program

The Project Manager – Loreto Duffy-Mayers and Dr. Ujjwal Bhattacharjee – one of the Tetra Tech Inc. consultants - conducted a presentation on the results of this phase of the project to date during the Green Investment Forum at STC-13 in Guyana. The contract for the supply of the equipment for the pilot demonstration projects has been signed and this Component of the project is underway. A final workshop is being planned to disseminate the results of the project which was extended until June 2012.

CHENACT- Advanced Program – the second phase of this project was launched in late October, 2012 and the project is in its procurement phase. Discussions are also ongoing with IDB and other donor agencies to refine the project scope and the in-kind contributions of the other participating organizations including CDE and the beneficiary governments. This phase builds on the results of the first phase to continue to encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy use in Caribbean hotels. It will also explore the possibility of obtaining carbon credits through developing a Program of Activities (PoA) under the Kyoto Protocol and accessing concessional funds related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction. US$2 million has been granted by the IDB which will be supported by resources from the partner agencies including CTO and CHTA. Beneficiaries of this project will include Barbados, The Bahamas and Jamaica.

3. Projected Activities

. Execute/provide technical support for ongoing projects and develop regional sustainable tourism initiatives (including capacity building) informed by identified Member needs as part of the sustainable tourism 2012-2013 Work Programme. . Plan and promote STC-14 in collaboration with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, including electronic and on-site planning meetings . Disseminate and seek from Members, articles for upcoming editions of the CTO-TravelMole VISION Expressed Caribbean–focused Quarterly sustainable tourism e-newswire. . Organize and host meetings of the CTO Sustainable Tourism Development Technical Committee (STTC). . Attend the CTO Business Meetings and Conference, October, St. Kitts . Participate in the World Responsible Tourism Day activities in November at WTM, London. . Represent CTO on Committees/Boards and organize/participate in meetings, workshops and other events as required e.g. CCCCC Board of Governors and ACS’ Special Committee on Sustainable Tourism.

FINANCE & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

TO: CTO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE & CTO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

FROM: THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

DATE: MAY 4, 2012

SUBJECT: FINANCE REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED FEBRUARY 29, 2012, AND THE REPORT ON OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2011

INTRODUCTION:

The Finance Report is presented for your review and approval in accordance with Article 5:2, and Article 7:1: (c) of the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the Constitution as amended in April 2008.

It comprises the report on the operations of the Caribbean Tourism Organization for the year ended December 31, 2011, together with the following: . The unaudited CTO financial statements for the two months ended February 29, 2012. . The unaudited Regional Marketing Fund (RMF) financial statements for the two months ended February 29, 2012. . Schedules of the current outstanding arrears of CTO and RMF contributions.

2011 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

In 2011 the organization continued to experience the reduced level of inflows of Members’ Dues that has existed for the past three years. However, during 2012, we did see the settlement of outstanding amounts by two Members resulting in a near $1 million inflow of funds which significantly improved the level of outstanding members’ dues to a position similar to that of the period 2009 into 2010.

Reaching this significant improvement has not been without challenge and during the year two members with significant arrears had their membership revoked with the resulting bad debt expense of $1.35 million. At December 31, 2011, the total outstanding Members’ dues arrears stood at $2,632,232 compared to $3,680,092 at the end of December 2010. Also by the end of 2011 two additional Members had reached the threshold of three years of arrears as set out in the CTO constitution. The other CTO Members who have reached or exceeded the three years of arrears threshold, have made some attempts to reduce their outstanding balances and it is on this basis that the Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism has allowed them to retain their membership. The Secretariat has continued wherever possible to engage Members with long outstanding arrears, as we try to resolve any issues they may have on a case-by-case basis.

Despite our continued fund-raising efforts, maintaining a level of additional revenues from fund-raising continued to be very difficult in 2011. Indeed our main fund raising activities in 2011, the Sustainable Tourism Conference and the State of the Industry Conference again generated low levels of revenue. While the levels of registration have been reduced, it is the vastly reduced level of sponsorship which significantly impacts the overall revenue and net profits (losses) from these events. These events provide a forum for our Members to deliberate on several issues that are key to the maintenance and development of the Caribbean tourism product.

The continued slow inflow of Members’ dues, coupled with the low revenue levels from our fund-raising efforts, has made it necessary for the Organization to maintain and expand its cost control programs. During the latter part of the year, the staff compliment was reduced and we have continued to look at our other major expenses such as travel and rent with a view to better streamline the activities which generate these costs. Increases in our promotion costs reflect the Organization’s stepped-up promotion of its core set of services, activities and events and CTO’s role in the promotion of the Caribbean brand.

In preparing our budgets for 2011, provision had been made for the costs related to the relocation of our office in Barbados to new premises. This relocation did not occur in 2011 as planned and therefore the associated costs which are expected to be mainly capital in nature will now be incurred during the second quarter of 2012.

2012 FINANCIAL RESULTS

The results of our operations for the first two months of the year and up to the time of writing this report continue to reflect a trend similar to what was experienced in 2011 and especially in its last two quarters. At the time of writing this report the balance of outstanding Members’ dues had risen to $5,327,552, made up of mainly Members dues for 2012.

In January 2012 during the CTO Board of Directors meeting it was noted that the total outstanding RMF balance was $7,645,294 at December 31, 2011, with 75% of the 2011 contributions still outstanding. This balance was subsequently adjusted by just over $1million, to reflect the revocation of membership of the two countries mentioned earlier in this report. By the end of April 2012 the outstanding RMF contributions had increased to $9,112,346 as made up of mainly current and 2011 contributions.

Some of the additional measures which were implemented during the second half of 2011 to further control or realign costs related to such areas as staffing, travel and rent are now fully in place and will mitigate against the continued slow inflow of funds and reduced results from our fund-raising efforts.

The delivery of services to Members will continue with the assistance of international donor organizations, such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the Organization of American States through ongoing projects in the areas of tourism satellite accounting, research and sustainable tourism development, which will see the introduction of the second phase of the Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency Action Program (CHENACTII) during 2012. Additional donor funding is expected during the year from the Caribbean Development Bank in the area of tourism satellite accounting. At the time of writing this report, one of our staff members is participating in a training workshop being facilitated by an international donor. This donor has been identified as a potential source of funding for our work in the area of Human Resource development.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS INFORMATION

AFFILIATE & ALLIED MEMBERS

Caribbean Central American Action (CCAA) has been promoting private sector-led economic development in the Caribbean Basin for over three decades. The organization serves its goal of facilitating trade and investment by fostering constructive dialogue between the private and public sectors to improve the policy and regulatory environments for business at the local, regional, and international levels. www.c-caa.org

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TOURISM PROGRAM

During the 36th Annual Conference on the Caribbean & Central America (November 30 – December 2, 2011) in New Orleans, CCAA approached tourism from the standpoint of the shared culture of that city with the Caribbean Basin. A field trip looking at some of the historic ties was organized, and the success of this outing provided the incentive to expand the concept at the 2012 Conference (InterContinental Hotel, New Orleans, from November 28-30). Planning is underway to include field trips that examine: history, cuisine & culture, and Mardi Gras. These will be in addition to a session that will look at how a region can bring value-added to tourism through niche markets, with specific focus on sports and culture.

CCAA is actively working to develop a program on regional transportation which will consider challenges and opportunities related to both maritime and air movements. Recent events, including the Annual Conference in New Orleans, the Washington Briefing Day on March 15, (in which Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Director General & CEO, Alec Sanguinetti, was an active interlocutor with U.S. Ambassadors to the Caribbean, Caribbean and Central American Ambassadors to Washington, and representatives of the U.S. Administration), and a CCAA presentation to the Institut de Cooperation Franco Caraïbes in Guadeloupe, have all been forums for discussions on how regional transportation is affecting integration and movement of people – and the related impact on the tourism industry.

CCAA invites CTO members to contact CCAA with information on upcoming events that are designed to contribute to the strengthening of the regional tourism industry. With a database of over 10,000 contacts, CCAA is a frequent collaborating organization for regional forums. We also include listings and information on these events in our newsletter publication, Currents, on our website (www.c-caa.org), and in our schedule of events.

* * * * *

FCCA – CTO REPORT

Cruise Industry Overview 2012 Based on third quarter 2011 results and fourth quarter estimates, we are forecasting that a record 16+ million passengers cruised in 2011, with 11.2 million North American guests. Coupled with an annual occupancy percentage that exceeded 103% in 2011, this annual passenger growth for 2011 shows an industry where demand continues to outstrip supply, even in trying economic environments.

In 2011 alone, 12 new ships debuted from CLIA Member Lines, with guest capacities ranging from 162 to 3,652 passengers sailing the world’s waters for the first time.

The industry’s growth is headlined by the Caribbean, which continues to rank as the dominant cruise destination, accounting for 39.8% of all itineraries in 2011, versus 41.3% in 2010, 37.02% in 2009, 37.25% in 2008, 41.02% in 2007 and 46.69% in 2006. Passenger numbers continue to remain consistent and high for the Caribbean, despite other rising cruise destinations. However, itineraries continue to grow more global and are always susceptible to a number of factors, such as fuel cost.

In 2012, the growth of the cruise industry continues as we enter an era distinguished by thirteen additional innovative, feature-rich ships, international ports-of-call and convenient departures from proximate embarkation cities. The current cruise ship order book extending through 2015 includes 26 new builds (17 ocean-going vessels and 9 European & American cruise riverboats) from CLIA Member Lines, with 45,600 berths and a value of nearly $12 billion.

The selling environment in 2012 is likely to improve over the recent challenging economic period. Cautious optimism is the forecast for 2012. Based on known ship additions and deletions in 2012, the industry forecasts 17 million guests in 2012, a 4% increase over 2011 and commensurate with the added capacity.

Carnival Corporation & plc Chairman, CEO Micky Arison states “All of us at Carnival Corporation & plc are deeply saddened by the Costa Concordia tragedy. Our hearts go out to everyone affected, particularly the families of the deceased and missing. The global cruise industry has an outstanding safety record and every one of our brands is committed to the well being of our guest and crew.

Immediately following the Costa Concordia accident we ordered a thorough review, with the help of industry-leading experts, to understand what happened as well as to conduct an extensive audit of all safety and emergency response procedures across all of our cruise lines. We will work tirelessly to understand what went wrong, and make sure it never happens again”.

The FCCA Member Lines base of business for 2012 is solid and booking volumes have gradually improved, which we believe is a testament to consumer confidence in the cruise industry’s long-standing record of exceptional safety. Despite the slight slowdown in bookings, in the first quarter all North America bands are still expecting yield improvements in 2012 while European brands, excluding Costa, are expecting to have slightly lower yields due in part to the slowing European economies. Overall, based on current pricing trends continued strong revenue performance is expected based on the benefits of ongoing business improvement initiatives.

2012 is a milestone for globalization (one corporation expects half of their guests to come from outside the United States).

The rate of global expansion will slow as incremental berth additions slow.

Lines are also announcing on-board revitalizations, such as new youth and teen programs, and taking continual steps to provide guests with a great vacation experience.

### 5/03/2012

REPORT FROM WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURISM COUNCIL (WTTC)

Mission of WTTC: To maximize the sustainable growth potential of the industry by informing governments and wider society, of the enormous economic and social benefit that Travel & Tourism brings to the world community

WTTC is pleased to report a bevy of activity and accomplishments over the past six months (October 2011 – April, 2012). These range from the production of major research reports, to formalizing Initiatives to implement the key strategic priorities, to conducting a Global Summit, to launching the first regional Americas Summit. These have all served the membership well and created extra benefits for expanding the overall membership base to over 100 top CEO’s representing an array of sectors comprising Travel and Tourism.

Dr Michael Frenzel, Chairman of the Executive Board, TUI AG was confirmed as the next Chairman of the Council, taking office on 20 April, 2012.

RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS/FORECASTS— The foundation of the Council is the information provided globally for defining the industry and providing empirical evidence for advocacy positions.

Economic Impact research The annual research released in March 2012, highlighted that:

Global Travel & Tourism continues to grow in spite of the continuing economic challenges. The industry grew by 3% in 2011 in terms of Travel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP. Tourism’s direct contribution to GDP in 2011 was US$2 trillion, generating 98 million jobs. Taking account of its direct, indirect and induced impacts, Travel & Tourism’s total contribution in 2011 was US$6.3 trillion in GDP, 255 million jobs, US$743 billion in investment and US$1.2 trillion in exports. This contribution represented 9% of GDP, 1 in 12 jobs, 5% of investment and 5% of exports. Growth forecasts for 2012 are at 2.6% in terms of the industry’s contribution to GDP. Longer-term prospects are even more positive with annual growth forecast to be 3.9% over the ten years to 2022.

In the Caribbean: The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was USD$47.1bn (13.9% of GDP) in 2011, and is forecast to rise by 2.0% in 2012, and to rise by 3.1% pa to USD$65.5bn in 2022. In 2011, the total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment, including jobs indirectly supported by the industry, was 12.1% of total employment (1,976,000 jobs). This is expected to rise by 0.9% in 2012 to 1,994,000 jobs and by 1.8% per year to 2,378,000 jobs in 2022 (12.2% of total).

The Impact of UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) In February 2012 WTTC commissioned Oxford Economics to quantify the economic impact of APD on the UK Economy. Findings included:

Abolishing APD would lead to an increase in direct GVA for the aviation sector of between £407m and £722m depending on the elasticity assumption. The associated direct employment impact is between 7,900 and 14,100 jobs. Including multiplier effects arising from the aviation sector, the impact on UK GVA goes up to an estimated £956m to £1,695m, equivalent to 19,000 to 33,600 jobs. Tourism impacts from increased international visitors add another £1,000m to £1,730m in GVA (accounting for direct, and multiplier tourism impacts), with an extra 22,200 to 38,300 jobs.

Assessing Travel & Tourism as a driver of economic development WTTC undertook a major study by Oxford Economics, sponsored by American Express which evaluates the potential of Travel & Tourism as a driver of economic development in comparison with other sectors. This research provides a definitive resource to present to policy makers that makes the case for investment in, and promotion of tourism. It will turn the conversation from the costs of destination promotion and tourism investment incentives to the potent economic, fiscal and labor market benefits of the industry. The global findings were released at the WTTC Global Summit in Tokyo in April. http://wttc.org/research/benchmarking- travel-tourism/

The Economic Impact of Visa Facilitation WTTC is partnering with UNWTO to produce research which quantifies the positive impact of changing visa policies across G20 countries. The research will be launched at the T20 Ministers Meeting in Merida, Mexico, in May 2012.

Defining a Position on Sustainability for WTTC WTTC is currently working on a ‘Tourism for Tomorrow’ report which will set out the WTTC position on Sustainability and set a framework for our activities in this area going forward. It will a be a major policy document summarizing issues affecting the industry, what the industry is doing to address issues, and how priorities for the future should be set. The findings will be launched in June prior to the Rio +20.

POLICY INITIATIVES – WTTC serves the global community through an action-oriented and broad policy agenda, reflecting the three strategic priorities: Freedom to Travel; Policies for Growth; and Tourism For Tomorrow.

Sustainability Initiative The Environment Initiative is now being broadened to encompass broader sustainability issues. Recent activities include a series of video contributions received from Members highlighting progress made since the launch of the first climate change report in 2009 and the Durban Communique was issued to the UNFCCC negotiations in Durban in December 2011, which has resulted in further engagement with a range of international organizations, including ICAO.

Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) WTTC has partnered with the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) to undertake a joint industry initiative to develop a common methodology and means of communication for measuring the carbon emissions of a hotel stay. The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) Working Group was established in May 2011 consisting of representatives from WTTC’s and ITP’s hotel Members.

Human Resources Initiative The HR initiative is focussed on addressing the difficulties Travel & Tourism companies are experiencing in attracting high quality undergraduates from business and economics courses. As a first step, a major piece of research is being undertaken to better understand undergraduate perceptions of the industry and map them against their expectations. The findings will help form the development of a global communications campaign.

Visa Initiative Visa facilitation has become a key focus of WTTC’s activities. Collaboration with UNWTO and WEF, who have also prioritized the issue, is ensuring that maximum traction is achieved. WTTC and the UNWTO are jointly producing a study on the economic impact of visa facilitation, the outcomes of which may be presented by the Minister of Tourism to President Calderon for submission to the G20 leaders.

GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY AFFAIRS – The top priority of WTTC is to integrate industry needs with governments. Speaking with one voice as the authority for the varied segments of the Travel and Tourism industry is the bedrock for the advocacy efforts.

Travel Association Coalition WTTC has formally established a Travel Association Coalition designed to develop alliances on common issues to address governments with one voice, and strengthen the advocacy leverage of the industry globally. The Coalition is being led by WTTC and represents a non-bureaucratic alliance of the following members: International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airports Council International – World (ACI), Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) , Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), and U.S. Travel Association (USTA), UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). The World Economic Forum (WEF) sits as an ex-officio member. The breadth and regional representation of the coalition may be expanded in the near future.

The common issue that is being addressed first is the improved mobility of travelers through improvements in the procedures and process of issuing visas. This ties in with WTTC’s ‘Freedom to Travel’ priority and also dovetails with WEF’s efforts on this issue through their Aviation, Travel & Tourism Council as well as the research being undertaken for the T20 Ministers Meeting.

Global Leaders for Tourism Initiative (Golden Book) UNWTO and WTTC have partnered to approach world leaders with an Open Letter underscoring the value of Travel and Tourism in economic and social contribution and job growth for their economy.

Signings have taken place so far in 26 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Burkina Faso, China, Colombia, Croatia, Gambia, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Serbia, the Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia and Vietnam. A Golden Book signing in Jamaica is scheduled for June.

T20 Ministers Meeting WTTC has been working closely with UNWTO on the T20 Ministers meeting due to be held in Mexico in the days preceding the WTTC Americas Summit 16 – 18 May 2012. The T20 meeting presents a great opportunity for the Travel & Tourism industry to present its case to the G20 leaders, given the high profile support President Calderon has shown to the industry over the past year.

12TH GLOBAL SUMMIT 2012, SENDAI/TOKYO, JAPAN Together with the Tokyo 2012 Summit Host Committee, WTTC conducted the 12th Global Summit in Sendai and Tokyo from 6 – 19 April, 2012. Over 1000 members and international delegates participated. In coalition with PATA, the Sendai program on 17 April concentrated on the theme of disaster recovery and tourism in the region and demonstrated the support of the global Travel and Tourism industry for the recovery in the Tohoku region of Japan.

THE 13TH GLOBAL SUMMIT, 2013, WILL BE HOSTED BY THE ABU DHABI TOURISM & CULTURE AUTHORITY AND ETIHAD AIRWAYS PJSC FROM 8 – 10 APRIL 2013 IN ABU DHABI, UAE.

INAUGURAL REGIONAL AMERICAS SUMMIT In August 2011, a strategy was developed to launch a series of regional events around the globe. The inaugural regional WTTC Americas Summit will take place on 16-18 May, 2012 in Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico and will follow the UNWTO T20 event in Merida, Mexico. The Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR) for Mexico is the host for the Summit.

NOTES

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