Multi-Country Destination Development:

An Opportunity to Stimulate Tourism in the Americas

Basic Introductory Report

Port-au-Prince, 19 May 2015 Outline

• Introduction • Opportunities Constraints • Lessons Learned • Takeaways • Conclusion

Introduction multi-country destination trip

A single trip that includes visitation to destinations shared by two or more countries that offer and promote a joint tourism product or route. Travel Facilitation: Purpose

Set of Policies to make destinations easy to visit (visas and border crossing services)

Improving visa processes could generate between Eliminating travel visas at 5.1 million new jobs by US$35 billion to US$206 the bilateral level is 2015 in the G20 billion additional receipts expected to more than economies (UNWTO & by 2015 in the G20 triple travel flows between WTTC) economies (UNWTO & countries WTTC) Travel Facilitation: Opportunities

Improve the delivery of Facilitate current visa information processes • providing updated information • delivering an efficient and on official travel sites friendly welcoming process • travel-friendly mentality for personnel at border crossings

Differential treatment to Institute eVisa programmes facilitate tourist travel • reduce costs as it does not • establishing flexible visa and require a large network of travel procedures (i.e. airport embassies and consulates connection layovers)

Establish regional Smart Travel agreements • data-sharing between • for passengers of a third government agencies for country to travel freely in a security and border control predetermined region • technology to integrate airport and visa screening processes • Common visa geographical areas Travel Facilitation: Issues

Constraints Lessons Learned

 Security screening and risks Visa free multilateral (i.e. drug and weapon agreements in the Americas- trafficking) Alianza del Pacifico, ,  Immigration control , OECS  Tight regulations on agricultural Trusted traveler programs— and animal-based products CARICOM & CRIPASS,  Trafficking of cultural handcrafts US Global Entry, NEXUS &  Paying for value added taxes in SENTRI countries without properly installed tax refund services Working Groups on Travel Facilitation –CTO, IATA, World  Difficulty in stablishing common Economic Council, APEC, visa frameworks (like Schengen)  Negative reciprocities in visas (CAFTA low; APEC high) Connectivity: Purpose

Advance bilateral and multilateral negotiations aimed at creating a network that will ensure adequate transportation connectivity among the destinations involved Connectivity: Opportunities

Transportation Air Border Transportation Cruise Hubs liberalization crossings Infrastructure seasonality • New air • Existence of air • Cross- • Ground • Manage hubs in the routes, border transportation is shorter time seasonality region—Bogota, tourism main mode— with multi- Lima, Panama & lower e.g. Interoceanic fares • Integrated destination City, and Miami border Highway strategies off • Strategic location • IIATA’s crossing between Peru Agenda for season for long-haul facilities and Brazil packages markets Freedom • Multimodal integration

Connectivity: Issues

Constraints Lessons Learned  Intra-regional and domestic South American Regional Infrastructure Initiative IIRSA unserved air routes is a constraint in facilitating cost and time efficient multi- destination travel  Internal demand for intra- regional and domestic travel can discourage opening new long haul direct routes  Inadequate border crossing infrastructure during peak seasons  Coordinating plans and investments  Major airlines in the United  Harmoniously integrating regulatory States to question open sky aspects policies and to attack foreign  Seeking out innovative public and private airlines receiving government financing mechanism subsidies Positioning & Branding: Purpose Motivations for Multiple-Country Trips: Travelers’ Perspective

Collecting places Variety and Novelty • Enumerating the Seeking destinations visited; • Need for variation and competing with others novelty

Numerosity Economic Motive • More destinations create a • Consumer surplus benefit-- higher perceived value of difference between quantity in the consumer’s willingness to pay and mind market price

Lower Perceived Risk • Reducing the uncertainty risk especially in group travels Positioning & Branding: Purpose Motivations for Multi-Country Travels: Destination Perspective

Cumulative Attraction Special Interest Appeal • The presence of • A combination of compatibility between a thematically similar given set of attractions can destinations can be the create a synergy that center of attention for makes the attraction power special interest tourists of the combination larger looking for a variety of than the sum of its parts. different experiences in their field of interest. Joint Marketing Complementarity • Regional marketing • Different destinations can cooperation with combine their resources to neighboring countries can become complementary offer economies of scale attractions and gain an and boost competitiveness additional competitive e.g. Yachting OECS “Many advantage as a group. Islands, One Caribbean Positioning & Branding: Opportunities

Social Media, Emerging Technologies and E- Tourism • Advances in information and communication technology offer growth opportunities for multi-country travels by facilitating the decision making processes for the customers; emerging dominance of the smart phone

Tools for Travel Planning • Available software products provide the flexibility required for designing individually managed tours and customized multi-country travel packages-e.g. Tripit, Tripwant

Emerging Economies: Chinese Market Example • The expanding emerging economies will provide a constant source of new customers and higher revenues from long haul travel to major cities. Positioning & Branding : Issues

Constraints Lessons Learned

 Building multilateral Commitment to cross-border partnerships in a sector – as cooperation in tourism at all levels fragmented as tourism – is Long-term planning and development sometimes very time of the destination consuming and difficult  Each country must give up Creation of marketable cross-border some degree of national products interest Professional management and  The existence of marketing disproportionality in the level of development, knowledge, etc., Efficient distribution of financial funds between partnering countries can lead to conflicts Innovative Tourism Products: Purpose

Multi-Country Product Development Chain Innovative Tourism Products: Opportunities

Niche Tourism Products • When destination management/marketing organizations are looking for potential destinations for cross-border cooperation, they should be well aware of their product offerings so that they can strategically create optimum bundles.

Border Tourism • A typical case of multi-country travel packages arises when a popular destination is located in a borderland, Innovative Tourism Products: Opportunities

Greater Tumen Region • Multi-Destination Tourism in GTR (China, Russian Federation, Mongolia and Republic of Korea) is a project that aims to make the GTR one of the most desirable international destinations

Lake Constance Area • Lake Constance - shared by Germany, Switzerland, and Austria - provides a good example of a mutually beneficial cooperation in tourism. Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park • GLTP- Cross border management by SA, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Shared ecosystems have resulted in many cases of cross-boundary cooperation as seen in 130 protected areas l in 98 countries. Innovative Tourism Products : Issues

Constraints Lessons Learned

 It is difficult to create a product that reflects the diversity anticipated Entities at different levels (supranational, national, regional and from a multi-country travel local) must debate thoroughly about a experience while making the clear strategy, specific and common different pieces appear to the financial resources, and a distribution visitor as consistent parts of a of tasks and responsibilities. single product. In order to strengthen social and  Multi-destination trips are more economic cohesion without affecting complicated to monitor and study sovereignty, genuine cross-border than single-destination trips. programmes should be put in place.  Electronic linking of various cross- boundary tourism supply chains is Brazil can play a leading role in also a challenge that needs to be promoting CBC given its 16,000 properly addressed by creation of a kilometers of borders with South destination network. American countries Tourism Route Development: Opportunities

Successful route development requires that attention be given to regional cooperation and infrastructure investment. Regional Cooperation Networks Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Response Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Andean Community (CAN) Inter-American Development Bank Multi-Lateral Investment AssociationInfrastructure of Caribbean States Investment (ACS) Fund (MIF) Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) (CARICOM) Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) Technology in the Americas (POETA) Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Southern Common Market (MECOSUR) Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) WorldSpecial Bank Multilateral Group FundPresident, of the Inter Dr.-American Jim Kim, Council has for Caribbean Vacations (Official Vacation Site of the Caribbean)identified Integral Development global infrastructure (FEMCIDI) as a critical Caribbean-Central American Action (CCAA) The World Bank and the Caribbean Region Central American Integration System (SICA) need(LAC) the Sustainable World Bank Tourism can help fill and a key Central American Tourism Integration Secretariat (SITCA) financingUnited Nations arena Economic where theCommission institution for Latin will America likely and Coordination Center for Natural Disaster Prevention in competethe Caribbean with emerging(UN ECLAC) financiers from Asia Central America (CEPREDENAC) andUnited elsewhere. Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) United States Department of Interior (US DOI) Young Americas Business Trust (YABT)0 Tourism Route Development: Opportunities

Jesuit Route La Ruta Maya Slave Route

Forts of the Spanish Gold Qhapaq Ñan Caribbean Route Andean Road System Tourism Route Development: Issues

Constraints Lessons Learned

 Development assistance agencies are country focused and lack Community participation and benefit mechanisms for effective regional sharing through enterprise cooperation development and job creation need to  The major challenge in planning be included in route planning and and establishing transnational implementation cultural heritage routes is to ensure an effective and sustainable mechanism for international coordination A benchmark that might be adapted to the Americas region is the European Institute of Cultural Routes in Luxembourg Take Aways Travel Facilitation: Take Aways

Governments involved in multi-country tourism collaborations should:

Evaluate the Align visa policies possibility to Simplify visa for third countries establish multi- processing country visas and

Enhance services Establish e-visa at border programs and use crossings and new technology to terminals. facilitate travel Connectivity: Take Aways

Enhance Leverage Lead efforts transportation transportation towards air networks and hubs liberalization infrastructure

Develop Enhance Border Innovate to infrastructure crossing overcome maps for multi- facilities seasonality country tourism

Coopetition Branding and Positioning: Take Aways

Factors Associated with Multi-Country Destination Travel

Travelers’ Perspective Destination Perspective

Numerosity Cumulative Attraction Collecting places Special Interest Appeal Variety and Novelty Seeking

Lower Perceived Risk Complementarity

Economic Motive Joint Marketing Tourism Route Development: Take Aways

A themed multi-country tourism route brings together a variety of activities and attractions that would not independently have the potential to entice long haul tourists to visit and spend time and money in more than one country.

Successful route development requires that attention be given to regional cooperation and infrastructure investment. Recent conferences on this topic— •Durban, SA--Regional Cross-Border Tourism: Recommendations for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Fair Trade and GIZ. •Dubai--2015 UNWTO & ATM Ministerial Forum on Intra-Arab Tourism stressed visa facilitation and multi-country route development in the region

Conclusion

The Global Travel Association Coalition (GTAC) in 2015 recommended policies related to multi-country destination development in order to:

1. Expand transparent visa processes, visa waiver programmes, regional visa agreements, trusted traveler programmes &seamless travel procedures at borders 2. Use new technologies to improve travel efficiency and enhance security. convenient, and more efficient while enhancing security 3. Advance air, rail, sea and road connectivity 4. Stimulate government and private sector co-operation 5. Strengthen public/private partnerships to assure legislative and funding needs for improvements and expansion of infrastructure

It is essential for UNWTO, possibly in cooperation with the Organization of American States, to bring together experts and tourism stakeholders from the public and private sector to debate the challenges and opportunities in advancing regional tourism integration in the Americas.

Thank You!