Some trends have indicated that travellers are making last-minute bookings and expectations are that there would be more spontaneous bookings this winter and beyond as the effect of the market dictates.
With airlines dropping prices, destinations have become more competitive and consumers are changing their patters of purchases. The Jamaica Tourist Board has increased its buy on television and radio, with major presence on CNN and Fox News networks including plans to bring in over 1,200 radio disc jockeys and other media persons within the next three months.
Most of the promotion is taking place in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), the Midwest (Illinois and Michigan) and the West coast (California). Emphasis will also be placed on Mexico and Colombia. Jamaica bookings for the first quarter of 2009 are down 30 per cent.
According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), expectations are that business travel and medium-size hotels will feel the greatest pinch and the WTO has also advised governments to provide the tourism sector with credit and warned hoteliers not to lay off employees. Tourism stakeholders in Jamaica have asked the Government for a stimulus package such as low-interest loans that can be easily accessed.
The Jamaica Ministry of Labour has been active in its efforts to minimise job losses by meeting with the unions.
The WTO expects that the decline in the tourist industry caused by the crisis will last well into the next two years and therefore efforts of marketing and promotion must be maintained. WTO points out that even-though some markets will suffer, five-star and the lowest categories will prevail, and those in the middle will have the maximum problem.
In order to deal with the current global financial-economic challenges, the European Commission has unveiled an economic recovery plan worth 200 billion Euros which they hope will save millions of jobs across Europe by stimulating economies. Most of the funds will be disbursed in 2009 and some would continue in 2010.
Barbados is developing strategies and looking at the Latin American market (Brazil, Argentina). Discussions are taking place with airlines that can link the island with key cities in some of the countries. Once those agreements are in place, a marketing strategy will be developed.
The Barbados Tourism Authority is also rolling out a new advertising push to reach sports-conscious fans that are looking for a new place to spend a vacation, and they are looking at how they can get more business out of the Caribbean such as Trinidad & Tobago.
Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson and the Social Partners (business sector and unions) were presented with an economic action plan recently to chart the way forward in the face of the global economic crisis. A meeting was held at the end of November to pave the way for the aforementioned report. The report is now being studied and on December 12 a meeting between the social partners will be held to finalise the action plan.
The St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce & Industry according to media reports will be organizing a pre-summit of all private sector stakeholders and unions for mid-December which is also the official start of the 2008-2009 winter tourism season. The pre-summit is to set the stage for a summit on mitigating the possible negative effects for St. Maarten due to the global economic challenges.
In the meantime, the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) and the Island Government St. Maarten Tourist Bureau are working on an emergency marketing plan to stimulate travel to the island to combat the downturn in occupancy and bookings.
A recent world-wide cruise survey by CruiseCritic of 2000 cruise travellers revealed that only a minority of people will forgo a cruise in the coming year because they cannot afford it, while almost a quarter said their cruise plans were unaffected. People are looking at ways to reduce the cost of their cruise such as waiting to book until the last minute in the hope of getting a cheap deal.
During these challenging times, there are opportunities, and it is up to St. Maarteners to work creatively to minimise the impact on our tourism oriented economy. At a recent United Nations WTO Resilience Committee Preparatory Meeting, due to the crisis, international tourism will experience less and probably negative growth over the next six to nine months, however the attendees also underscored tourism's potential to foster growth, exports and employment, particularly in developing countries.
Looking ahead with confidence based on progressive initiatives that could be taken to offset the challenges due to the global financial-economic crisis is what is required in continuing to move our island nation forward during these challenging times.
Roddy Heyliger