CHINA: Chinese tourists Spent 258 Billion US Dollars On International Tourism In 2017

China continues to lead global outbound travel, according to a report published by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Titled - The UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2018 Edition, the report noted that Chinese tourists spent 258 billion US dollars on international tourism in 2017, almost one-fifth of the world's total tourism spending.

According to the report, overall international tourist arrivals grew by seven percent to 1,323 million in 2017, the largest rise since 2010.

The growth in arrivals was echoed by a strong increase in exports generated by tourism, which reached 1.6 trillion US dollars in 2017.

The UNWTO explained that the 2017 results were driven by sustained travel demand for destinations across all world regions, including a firm recovery by those that have suffered from security challenges in recent years.

The organization also highlighted how the economic recovery of economies such as Brazil and Russia benefited both advanced and emerging destinations.

France remained the most popular tourist destination with Spain moving into second place, while Japan moved into the top ten earners from tourism after six straight years of double-digit growth.

Available data for early 2018 has confirmed international tourism continues to grow this year with a six percent year-on-year increase for the first four months of the year.

Chinese tourists visited domestic attractions over 2.8 billion times in the first half of 2018, up 11.4 percent year-on-year, according to a report released Wednesday by the China Tourism Academy.

The report said urban residents accounted for almost 2 billion visits, an increase of 13.7 percent compared with the same period last year, while residents from the countryside paid about 800 million visits, up 6.3 percent.

The revenue generated by domestic tourism was 2.45 trillion yuan (358 billion US dollars), a rise of 12.5 percent, the figures show.

Red tourism, which refers to activities and locations related to the Communist Party of China, has seen a boom over the past six months, according to the report.

Visits to the 436 registered scenic spots that highlight the nation's revolutionary history hit a record high of 484 million, up 4.83 percent year-on-year. Revenue reached over 25 billion yuan, a near 6 percent increase.

The outbound tourism market also saw growth in the first half, with trips to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as foreign destinations reaching over 70 million, up 15 percent year-on-year.

The total number of China's domestic and inbound tourist trips will surpass 5.1 billion this year, up by more than 11 percent from 2016, a report showed Wednesday.

Tourism revenue this year will be more than 5.3 trillion yuan (about 802 billion US dollars), up 13 percent from a year earlier, according to a report jointly released by the China Tourism Academy and the data center of the China National Tourism Administration.

In 2016, the overall contribution of tourism to the national economy stood at 11 percent, with total tourism revenue up 13.6 percent to 4.69 trillion yuan.

With the fast expansion of tourism, China has become the world's largest source of outbound tourists and the fourth largest destination of inbound tourists.

In the first three quarters this year, the number of domestic tourists rose 13.17 percent year on year, with revenue from domestic tourism surging 16.55 percent.

The report forecast that China's tourism revenue would be more than 6 trillion yuan in 2018.


Tourism Observer

CAPE VERDE: The African Islands That Many Worldwide Want To Discover

Cape Verde has seen the biggest surge in Google searches worldwide over 12 years

As a holiday destination, Cape Verde has plenty to recommend it.

It’s a year-round sun spot with alluring beaches, volcanic hiking routes, and a lively music scene, not to mention direct flights from the UK at under six hours, and no time difference, so no jet lag to contend with.

These draws would appear to be common knowledge. Indeed, it seems that just about everyone is searching for it online.

According to the Global Travel Search Index, which ranks the holiday destinations that have shown the greatest increase in Google search interest over the past 12 years, Cape Verde takes the top spot, with a spike of more than 3,000 per cent since 2004.

Earlier this year the islands were named the second most searched-for spot on Earth for Britons, sandwiched between the perennial city break favourites of Barcelona and Amsterdam.

Not that all those searches are translating into visits. The latest stats on tourism reveal that the Atlantic archipelago covering around 1,500 square miles, only welcomed 644,000 tourists in 2016.

By comparison Tenerife, covering 785 square miles, had 5.7 million tourists that year.

True Luxury Travel, which assembled the Global Travel Search Index, found that Cape Verde had the biggest increase in Google searches since 2004 worldwide, looking at 2017 alone, it came in second, after Barcelona.

To accurately assess rises and falls in annual searches, Google Trends issues various geographical locations with a score based on the overall volume in searches, taking into account how many people have been using Google over time.

In 2004, Cape Verde’s score was 23, but by 2016, it was 713 – a 3,000 per cent rise. It was followed by the United Arab Emirates - a 681 per cent spike over 12 years, the Philippines - a 276 per cent rise, Pakistan - a 162 per cent rise and Nigeria - a 145 per cent rise.

Which destinations saw the biggest drop in Google searches?

Libya saw the most dramatic dip in search interest for holidays there - an 88.8 per cent drop over 12 years, for obvious reasons, having descended into civil war six years ago.

The Foreign Office continues to advise against all travel there, and Tripoli’s International Airport has been closed since 2014.

After Libya it was Tunisia - a 88.1 per cent drop, Paraguay - down 86 per cent, Somalia - a 85.9 per cent drop and Iraq - a 88.5 per cent fall.

Have visitor numbers in Cape Verde actually been climbing?

Yes, just not quite so dramatically. Cape Verde welcomed 644,000 tourists in 2016, a 13.6 per cent rise from the previous year.

Henry Morley, Founder of True Luxury Travel, says: A key reason for the increase in search volume for Cape Verde is due to much greater accessibility to the islands.

Recent years have seen greater availability of direct flights from the UK which will have brought the country to the forefront of people’s minds as a potential holiday destination.

Airports have been opening on all Cape Verde’s inhabited islands, the newest international hub being Cesária Évora Airport in late 2009.

Morley added: We found similar patterns with other destinations, with greater flight accessibility to south-east Asia and India from the UK making these once far-flung locations easier to visit.

Oman and Cambodia are two destinations which have experienced a huge influx in recent years and we have seen that reflected in a surge in recent bookings.

A visitor to Sal in Cape Verde this year, predicts its popularity will continue to increase. Its main selling points are that it’s a six-hour direct flight from the UK, with little or no time difference, and better guaranteed year round sunshine than the Canaries.

But it’s much cheaper and closer than the Caribbean.

Sal does have its disadvantages. It can be very windy for extended parts of the year, though this makes it a big kite-surfing destination, it’s very arid and doesn’t have a great deal in the way of culture or cuisine.

It also traditionally attracts an older demographic but I think this will change, with resorts and clubs opening that make it a cheaper alternative for those that flock to in the likes of Mykonos, Marbella and Ibiza.

Some regions are dry and arid, others lush and mountainous.

A visitor to cape Verde five years ago says flights were all full because one of only two planes serving the islands had broken down.

There was very little to do on the main tourist islands, Sal and Boa Vista, apart from park yourself on the beach and maybe try some watersports.

He was taken on a minibus tour of the highlights of Sal, including a fly ridden rock arch and cave, a down-at-heel fish market and a desert mirage.

Still, the islands do what they on the tin, he concludes, singling out Sao Vicente for music, Santao Antao for food, and Santiago for hiking.

If you want clear blue skies, a burst of intense winter heat, perfect white sand and tepid ocean, they’re all great in Cape Verde.

How can you get to cape verde?

Thomson Airways flies to the island of Sal from Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Gatwick and Manchester and to its neighbour Boa Vista from Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester.

Thomson Cook Airlines follows suit, touching down on Sal from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham, and on Boa Vista from Birmingham. Each of these services takes six hours or thereabouts.

Portugal’s national carrier TAP is a further option, serving Sal and Boa Vista, plus sibling islands Santiago and Sao Vicente from Lisbon. It offers UK connections to London City, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester.

The fastest growing tourist destinations in terms of visitor numbers:

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Sierra Leone tops the list.

The little West African nation welcomed 310 per cent more overseas arrivals in 2016, compared with the previous year, a steep rise that was no doubt helped by the country being declared Ebola-free in November 2015.

Just 24,000 people visited Sierra Leone in 2015; but UNWTO last reported estimated numbers of 74,400 for 2016. This is a recent spike.

In terms of the Global Travel Index’s 12 year data, however, Seirra Leone doesn’t even feature in the top 25 countries with the most dramatic rise in online interest.

Next on UNWTO’s list of fastest growing destinations was Nepal, which saw a 39.7 per cent uptick of visitors than the previous year, almost neck-and-neck with Iceland, which saw a 39 per cent spike.

Iceland was voted the 17th best country in the world by readers in the Telegraph Travel Awards 2017, up four spots from its position in the 2016 rankings.


Tourism Observer

CHINA: Chinese Tourists Biggest Spendors

China is the world's fastest growing tourist source market, thanks to higher disposable incomes in the world's number two economy and looser foreign travel restrictions. Chinese tourists made 83 million foreign trips in 2012, compared to 10 million in 2000.

Chinese tourists spent US$ 262 billon on foreign trips in 2016, a 12 per cent increase over the figure in 2015.

Chinese tourists continued to spend more than any other country's outbound travellers last year, while more than doubling the spending by their US counterparts, according to data released this week by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Chinese tourists spent US$ 262 billon on foreign trips in 2016, a 12 per cent increase over the figure in 2015, while the number of outbound tourists rose 6 per cent to 135 million in 2016.

Meanwhile, outbound travellers from the US, the second largest outbound market for tourism spending last year, spent US$122 billon abroad. Travellers from Germany, the United Kingdom and France trailed behind and made up the top five spenders.

The UNWTO said that China has been the largest outbound travel market since 2012 and that 2016 marked the 13th consecutive year that China saw double-digit growth on outbound tourism expenditure.

The growth of China's outbound tourism benefited not only many short-haul destinations in Asia and the Pacific, most notably Japan, South Korea and Thailand, but also long-haul destinations including the US and Europe.

Chinese tourists are spending 6 times more than Japanese tourists while traveling abroad.

Chinese and Japanese people have a serious rivalry when it comes to the manufacturing of innovative and novel products. These two nations are considered as the most hardworking and sophisticated nations.

People of both nations travel all over the world to explore new places and learn new things. It is the secret behind the success of these nations.

Now, the question is tourists of which country spend more money in foreign countries. Generally, tourists of both countries are very versatile as some of them spend generously while others don’t spend too much in foreign countries. Here you are going to find tourists of which nation are more bighearted and why.

Chinese vacationers spend through six times more than their Japanese brothers when they pay a visit to the South Korean capital, a review done by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. As indicated by the Seoul Institute under the city organization, Chinese tourists visit Seoul 1.9 times normally yet spend somewhere in the range of 2.13 million won (US$1,800) when they are on vacations.

In the examination, Japanese tourist goes to Seoul 4.9 times normally, however, spend only 330,000 won. The survey was directed in December a year ago on 1,045 outside tourists who were leaving through Incheon and Gimpo air terminals after their journey here.

More tourists from Southeast Asian nations said they come to Seoul 1.9 times normally, spending around 790,000 won on every visit, the most recent survey said.

The discoveries then demonstrated that travelers from North America, Oceania, and Oceania spend about 660,000 won each, with every individual visiting by a normal of 3.1 times.

The report said each foreign visitor going by Seoul spend through 1.84 million won normally, generally during his or her visit. Of the aggregate, shopping represented the most with 1.06 million won or 57.6 percent of the aggregate.

It is also a fact that youngsters spend more money as compared to old people because they have energy and desire to live every second of life. The only issue is that most young travelers don’t possess enough money to spend generously. Due to this reason, middle age travelers spent maximum amount during traveling because they have enough energy and money for it.

As per age, visitors who are in their 30s spend the most on shopping with costs hitting 1.22 million won, trailed by individuals in their 20s with 1.18 million won. Tourists in the 40-something age category spend through 920,000 won and those in their 50s and more senior spend 650,000 won.

Female tourist spends more on shopping than means with every spending through 1.14 million won, which is more than the 970,000 won that men spend on the journey.

The survey, in the meantime, demonstrated that the more times travelers come to Seoul; the more outlandish they are to spend cash here.

Among first-time guests, total expenses achieved an average of 1.10 million won. This means to around 800,000 for individuals who were here 4-6 times and fell further to 780,000 won for individuals who were in the city more than seven times, as per the survey.

What is astonishing is the matter that how price-insensitive a considerable measure of these Chinese travelers is. Hardly recognizing what the cost of something is, they will simply top off carts with things that could possibly be great esteem for cash.

Korea spends a ton of its struggle advantageously devastating everything that western travelers would likely be curious about finding in return for the modern – including new makeup shops and shopping centers for Chinese individuals. It isn’t so much that individuals from western nations don’t have cash to spend, it’s that they don’t come to Korea to spend it.

Why should they? There are numerous closer and more appealing places if one’s expectation is just to shop. As another poster said, even “duty-free” is essentially insignificant to Americans.

Most likely a lot of Chinese vacationers doesn’t come here looking to simply be carried from duty-free shop to obligation free shop with the express reason for spending. That is exactly what they’re made to do. Cash doesn’t rise on trees; it obviously originates from Chinese pockets.

Japanese people also travel a lot but they are less generous than Chinese tourists. The social and economic relations also play an important role in this difference. China has a better economy than Japan.

Moreover, the economy of scale is also in the favor of china. In short, business should focus on Chinese travelers because it is evident from statistics that which market segment is more profitable.

The number of foreign visitors from China increased significantly in 2015, but the Tourism Board of Costa Rica (Spanish initials: ICT would like to see even greater growth.

According to a news report filed by Diego Perez Damasco of national newspaper La Prensa Libre, the year-over-year increase of Chinese tourists in Costa Rica was nearly 30 percent last year. Still, the overall number of tourists from China is still not significant in comparison to other markets, particularly when compared to the United States.

Less than 9,060 Chinese tourists visited Costa Rica last year, compared to more than one million from the United States, a North American nation that sent 81,112 additional tourists in 2015. Nonetheless, Minister of Tourism Mauricio Ventura explained that attracting more Chinese tourists is an economic priority.

Chinese tourists who visit Costa Rica tend to be more affluent and not as frugal as their North American counterparts, according to research published by the National Chamber of Tourism,CANATUR. ICT officials would like to attract the type of Chinese tourists who land on private jet charters and who arrange chauffeured private transportation during their entire stay at luxury resorts.

The effort to attract more Chinese tourism to Costa Rica dates back to the administration of former President Laura Chinchilla, who visited Shanghai in August of 2012. President Luis Guillermo Solis visited the People’s Republic of China in late 2014.

Plans to open Costa Rica consulates in Hong Kong and Shanghai date back to 2013, and tourism has been a major reason for establishing these diplomatic ties, particularly at a time when Cuba is becoming very attractive to Chinese tourists who would like to experience the Caribbean for the first time.

As recently reported by The Costa Rica Star, Air China began offering direct flights to Cuba in late December.

Chinese tourists spend up big in Australia $7.7bn in the past year.

Tourism Research Australia says Chinese visitors spent more than the combined figure of $7.5bn by Britons, Americans and Canadians

Spending by Chinese tourists rose 43% in the 12 months to September, compared with the previous year, says Tourism Research Australia.

Chinese tourist spending in Australia soared to $7.7bn over the past year, rising at more than three times the rate of increase in overall visitor spending.

Spending by visitors from China rose 43% in the 12 months to September compared with the previous year. A fall in the value of the Australian dollar helped make the country more affordable to overseas visitors.

Chinese visitor expenditure has exceeded the tourist industry’s annual target of $7.4bn – set in 2010 – five years ahead of schedule. It is more than the combined $7.5bn spent by Britons, Americans and Canadians.

Total inbound visitor spending grew 13% to a record $34.8bn, said Tourism Research Australia.

The tourist industry has received a welcome boost from the decline in the Australian dollar. Even after its recent mini recovery, the currency is down almost 15% against the US dollar compared with this time last year.

Tourism Research Australia’s managing director, John O’Sullivan, said the priority was to get visitors out of the capital cities and spending their dollars across the country.

“The tyranny of time, distance and cost mean that Australia will never be a high- volume destination,” O’Sullivan said.

“Our Tourism 2020 strategy is unashamedly focused upon yield: encouraging international visitors to stay longer, disperse further and ultimately do more and spend more while in our country.”

Food and wine spending by visitors is approaching $700m, far exceeding the $500m target the industry set when it launched a Restaurant Australia advertising campaign in December 2013.

Chinese overtake Germans as biggest spending tourists.

Chinese tourists have overtaken Germans as the world's biggest-spending travelers after a decade of robust growth in the number of Chinese holidaying abroad, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) said on Thursday.

Chinese tourists, known for travelling in organized tours and snapping up luxury fashion abroad, spent $102 billion on foreign trips last year, outstripping deep-pocketed travelers from Germany and the United States.

Chinese tourists spent 41 percent more on foreign travel in 2012 than the year before, beating the close to $84 billion both German and U.S. travelers parted with last year.

Tourists from other fast-growing economies with swelling middle classes, like Russia and Brazil, also increased spending in 2012. In recession-hit Europe, however, French and Italian tourists reined in their holiday budgets.

"The impressive growth of tourism expenditure from China and Russia reflects the entry into the tourism market of a growing middle class from these countries," said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

The German Travel Association (DRV) said it was to be expected that the Chinese would eventually overtake Germans in terms of spending, given that the country had more inhabitants than North America, Russia and Europe put together.

"But that they have overtaken us already is astonishing," DRV president Juergen Buechy said.

The Chinese make more long-haul trips than Germans, who typically go to Mediterranean destinations, meaning that the average spend per holiday was greater, he added.

Hoteliers, tour companies, restaurants and even taxi drivers will need to brush up on their knowledge of Chinese cuisine, culture and language if they are to tempt them away from favorite destinations like Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Maldives, European tourism officials have said.

Other countries in the top 10 including Japan and Australia posted growth in travel spending, though only Russia came close to China's huge growth, with a 32 percent increase in holiday budgets.

Russians are now the fifth highest-spending tourists, parting with $43 billion last year, according to the Madrid-based UNWTO, and catching up on the British, who spent $52 billion in 2012.

Italian spending dipped by 1 percent to $26 billion in 2012 and French tourists parted with $38 billion, a 6 percent drop year-on-year. The two euro zone peers were the only countries in the top 10 outbound markets to post declines.

ARMENIA: Yerevan To Host World Tourism Summit

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) will hold its 38th annual plenary session of affiliated members in Yerevan on October 1-4, economy minister Artsvik Minasyan said today before a Cabinet session approved the signing of a relating agreement with UNWTO.

“This event is expected to greatly enhance the standing of Armenia as a tourism country, and we expect it to increase the number of foreign tourists visiting our country,” Minasyan said.

According to UNWTO, the plenary session in Yerevan represents an opportunity for affiliate members to meet, discuss, share and interact around a variety of topics, serving as a dynamic space to generate ideas, discuss the latest trends of the sector and work together towards fostering public-private collaboration and promoting good practices in the sector.

This year’s session will be held in an innovative format as various social activities will be held before the working sessions, offering the participants the possibility to explore the Armenian culture. Participants will attend the Armenia Wine Festival, take a guided tour of Yerevan city or join the national celebration of the International Tourism Day.

According to statistics, in the first quarter of the fiscal year, the number of tourists visiting Armenia exceeded 252,000 people, which was 8.6% higher than in the same time span of 2015. In 2015, some 1.192 million tourists visited Armenia, 1% less than in 2014.

Spring Festival, Young Chinese Choose Tourism And Less Of Tradition

While hundreds of millions of his Chinese compatriots pack into planes, trains, and automobiles to return to their ancestral homes for the Lunar New Year celebration, Zhang Hao, 30, is getting as far away as he can. “I decided to go abroad this year because my parents are pressuring me to marry,” he said.

Instead of making the 1,200 kilometre trek from Beijing, where he works as a designer, to his icy northern hometown of Harbin, Zhang booked a 20,000 yuan ($3,000) trip to Thailand for February 6 — one day before Chinese custom would dictate he ought to be with his parents.

The festival, which compares in importance to Christmas in the West, marks a time when far-flung family members return home for merriment and meals — according to tradition, they must be back by midnight on the eve of the new year.

But rising individualism and financial independence are seeing more and more young Chinese choose to defy custom, while at the same time tourism and outbound travel are surging.

“There was no choice” but to go abroad, Zhang said. ‘‘It’s mostly the generation who grew up in the 90s who are taking off because they were by their parents’ side the whole time they were growing up.” He is not alone.

More than 30 per cent of Chinese planning a break over the holiday, also known as Spring Festival, say they are doing so because they want to “get far away from relatives” or feel that “spending New Year at home is getting boring”, according to a customer survey by Chinese travel planning and booking website Mafengwo.

Growing numbers are also seizing the opportunity for tourism, despite slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
The China Youth Daily devoted its entire opinion page to the issue on Friday, with writer Chen Fang saying that many people now resent going home because of boredom and stress, while children are less excited about customary gifts such as new clothing.

“I prefer to view Spring Festival as a slightly longer holiday,” Chen wrote. ‘‘Wherever the people are, wherever the family is, that’s where the festival is.”

But Huang Wei argued in a contrasting column that the ancestral hearth was critical.

“When I was young and unmarried, going home for Lunar New Year to spend time with my parents was merely a way to carry on an ancient tradition,” he said.

“Now that I’m over 40 and a husband and father as well as a son, reuniting the family for Spring Festival is a great responsibility.”

The Chinese government estimates that 2.91 billion trips of all kinds will be taken over the holiday’s 40-day travel season, in what is thought to be the largest yearly movement of people in the world.

Mafengwo said that among its festival season bookings, 40 per cent were for tourist travel — twice the proportion of two years ago, although some were going with relatives.

Practicality was increasingly trumping tradition, Hong Kong University sociology professor Gary Wong said.
“One of the most important elements is that it’s the longest period of holiday for the whole year,” he said.

But older generations, he added, “still prefer to have the whole family get together”.

Nearly six million people, the most ever, will pack their bags for a leisure destination during the coming week, China’s biggest outbound travel portal Ctrip estimated last month, which said its bookings were up 15 per cent from 2015.

Over 60 per cent were going overseas, it said, with Thailand, Japan and Korea topping the list.

“This year these destination countries and areas will be ‘occupied’ by Chinese travellers,” Ctrip said, adding that the trend was being driven by relaxation of visa policies, increasing international flights from China, and weakening overseas currencies.

Chinese travellers are by far the biggest spenders in the world, splashing $165 billion in countries they visited last year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

For the wealthiest travellers, tour groups to Antarctica have become increasingly popular, despite costing up to 300,000 yuan per person.

But even those who choose tourism over tradition — and state broadcaster CCTV’s new year special, the world’s most-watched television programme — are concerned about the loss of customs they are electing to escape.

“To be honest, I’m a little worried about it,” said Zhang, the Thailand-bound traveller.

“Nowadays young people are becoming more and more independent.

A lot of my own friends aren’t going to watch the Spring Festival Gala, which in the past was unimaginable.”

JAMAICA: Leveraging One Caribbean Tourism Despite Competition

Despite competition among Caribbean destinations, there has to be collaboration and cooperation to strengthen the Caribbean brand

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries globally. It has come to the rescue of many underdeveloped and developing countries, where it has replaced traditional industries such as agriculture and manufacturing. As World Tourism Day is being celebrated, it is imperative to reflect on the emergence and evolution of tourism in the Caribbean and to contemplate the future of this industry in a region that highly depends on tourism economy.

While this contemplation goes on, changes are taking place in the Caribbean tourism landscape. Changes are inevitable, but more so with the phenomenon of tourism. People's desire to travel, preferences and needs change. A destination's target market will also change, so do the physical and natural landscape of any tourism offering due to human and environmental disturbance. Economic indicators will also change. There will be new developments in technology that will force change in operations. There will be change in political systems which will influence policy decisions and operation of the tourism industry. Change will always occur, but it is not the change that should be the worrisome issue; rather, how prepared a tourism destination is , be it a country or region, to mitigate the impacts.

The dynamic nature of tourism leverages changes to the modus operandi in the Caribbean region, hence, the discussion on a Caribbean Tourism Model and the Caribbean Basin Tourism Initiative.

Caribbean Tourism Model

There have been several endorsements for tourism development in the Caribbean. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) continues to encourage tourism development in countries such as those in the Caribbean because of its potential to grow economies.

Perry Christie, prime minister of The Bahamas, in his address to the Caricom Community at the opening of the 36th Caricom heads of government summit in Barbados, emphasised that tourism development should be taken more seriously, and thus should be on the agenda of heads of government and regional meetings. He stressed the importance of tourism development in reducing unemployment and debt burdens and growing the economies of the region.

This message was not left unheard. The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) hosted a four-day workshop in July of this year to conceptualise new ideas and fresh thinking in order to reinvent the Caribbean tourism product under the theme 'Developing Viable and Sustainable Tourism Products'. The Singapore Model was used as the benchmark for the forum.

But, what is the Singapore Model, and can this leverage change to tourism development in the Caribbean? This model focuses on four key areas: tourism experience, tourism planning, tourism product development, and tourism destination and products. This model is based on a "YourSingapore" destination brand and a vision that speaks to "a vibrant and inspiring Destination Singapore". It is built on the premise of "a dynamic tourism landscape for Singapore in partnership with industry and community". The Singapore Model is based on long-term strategic planning and a marketing thrust that pushes the destination as a place for business, leisure, health care, and education. The "YourSingapore" destination brand suggests ownership of tourism by the stakeholders, inclusive of visitors and residents. Increase in visitor numbers is planned carefully through a yield-driven quality growth strategy. There is strong collaboration between the tourism board in Singapore and industry stakeholders to create value for visitors, increase industry performance, competitiveness and business opportunities, and establish long-term partnerships. The outcome of this model is that Singapore, which is only 700 square kilometres, has an average of 15 million visitors per year. Bearing in mind that Jamaica is 15 times larger in land mass than Singapore.

It is the aspiration of CTO to have a Caribbean tourism model. Let us analyse some realities. Singapore is only one country while there are several countries in the Caribbean. Can the Caribbean tourism model benchmark this vision and mission within a framework of divided land mass and varying political, social and economic systems?

What was most profound in Prime Minister Christie's message at the summit was his remark that the next generation will have a "much greater burden to carry if we don't begin to focus on ways to make our natural strengths stronger". This suggests that tourism operations in the region cannot operate the usual way. It has to be rejuvenated with new and complementary product offerings to attract and engage the tourist and create competitive advantage amongst other tourist regions, bearing in mind that this has to be done in a sustainable way. Sustainable tourism development suggests that the needs of visitors, residents and other stakeholders be met, taking into consideration the political, environmental, economic, social, and cultural environment in order to preserve the resources for future generations (UNWTO, 2011). Sustainable tourism development is no longer a buzz concept, but what is required now to ensure that this economic phenomenon continues to exist.

Can tourism development in the Caribbean be sustainable? Caribbean tourism is based predominantly on physiography and tropical climate. With the onset of climate change and its effects on these resources, there is the need for in-depth focus and analysis as to what to do now so that tourism can continue to exist. Being small island states and developing economies, it can be difficult to introduce and implement some of the measures to ensure sustainability. Greater economic benefit is gained from the mass tourism model. Tourism considered to be sustainable is not profitable, and the power law distribution theory explains that mass tourism provides more revenue than niche markets.

Whilst Caribbean countries depend on foreign direct investment via tourism, there are associated economic costs, mainly economic leakage, occurring from the importation of goods and services outside of the region. Is it that Caribbean countries will be providing more goods and services within the region to supply each other and reduce economic leakage? This would be a very good opportunity for the growth of supporting industries such as information technology, banking and finance, agriculture and manufacturing. This would be welcoming to residents; providing them with the needed employment opportunities. Scholars have found that residents will favour and support tourism development if they will derive economic benefit. There will be demand for education and training in the various areas, and so these institutions are poised to benefit from industry linkages. Competent human capacity is one of the pillars of economic and social empowerment.

Caribbean Basin Tourism Basin Initiative

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association (CHTA) is suggesting a Caribbean Basin Tourism Initiative with the United States of America (US) for regional tourism development where all Caribbean countries will benefit. This stems from the anticipated disruption of the US tourism market in the region due to the restoration of diplomatic relations between them and Cuba, which should lead to the removal of US-imposed embargo. This renewed USA-Cuba relationship is perceived to be a threat to tourism in many Caribbean countries. The prediction is that more Americans will be visiting Cuba, and so countries such as Jamaica and The Bahamas, which are popular destinations in the region for American visitors, will face a decline in that market, thus disrupting their tourism economy.

Tourism in Cuba is not new, and therefore is not new competition. Like many other countries in the region, tourism has been used to counter the effect of the declining sugar industry and to diversify the economy. In 2014, Cuba had a visitor count of over three million with the majority coming from Canada, seconded by Europe. Certainly, US travellers will want to visit Cuba because of the newness of the product to them. The unknown destination and the curiosity surrounding the Pearl of the Caribbean; Cuba's political history, cultural practices, norms, history, and heritage; and even nostalgia for Cubans who migrated, among other features that the "new tourist is seeking", will drive this market. Hence, there will be new competition in the region for US visitors.

The anticipated increase in visitor interest to Cuba, especially from the US, should not be a deterrent to tourism in other Caribbean destinations. It should be a change where leverage can be applied to maximise regional competition through 'collaborative tourism'. There are numerous possibilities surrounding regional tourism partnership and collaboration to include the building of human expertise for the industry, expansion in manufacturing and trading of goods and services to supply the region, thus increasing sufficiency and retaining economic gain for further growth and development, and benchmarking best practices to strengthen tourism operations.

Countries such as the Dominican Republic and Jamaica already have long-standing relationships with Cuba, and this would further facilitate partnership in tourism. One of Jamaica's local hotel chains, Sandals Resorts International, currently operates in the wider Caribbean, their model could be used to bridge some of the divides, such as cultural differences and trade relations. There are possibilities of island hopping for countries in close proximity to Cuba and increase airlift to the region from across the world, making the Caribbean more accessible. Common among Caribbean people is the taste for spicy and sweet foods. Food, condiments and confectionaries made in the region can be traded among country destinations.

According to CHTA , American visitors who seek vacation packages on impulse may now prefer to travel to Cuba because of the proximity. It means that the rest of the Caribbean can benefit from long-haul visitors through strategic marketing. All of this requires leverage of change and co-operation. Despite competition among Caribbean destinations, there has to be collaboration and co-operation to strengthen the Caribbean brand. However, the questions are: Is the need for change recognised by all Caribbean destinations? Are these changes desirable? Can these changes occur? The challenge is how to bypass the political, socio-cultural and economic differences among Caribbean destinations and collectively benefit from the 'One billion tourist, one billion opportunities' (World Tourism Day 2015 theme).

Caricom, CTO and CHTA all have very important roles in charting this pathway.

Despite competition among Caribbean destinations, there has to be collaboration and co-operation to strengthen the Caribbean brand.