The elements of a programme to reposition tourism in the Greater Caribbean already exist. This became evident from reports presented at the Extraordinary Meeting of the ACS Sustainable Tourism Committee held in Caracas last November 5-6, which reviewed initiatives taken in response to the fall-out from September 11.

These initiatives can be integrated into a coherent long-term strategy that goes beyond crisis management, avoids unnecessary competition and exploits the complementarities of visitor attractions in the region.

The first element, represented by the initial advertising campaigns, is to market the region to the traditional US market as a safe destination that is “close to home”. But recent events suggest that fear of flying in the US will continue for some time and is largely outside of the region’s control. Furthermore the US Government is itself countering the travel industry crisis by providing tax incentives for domestic vacations.

Risk factor considerations suggest that the region’s precious advertising dollars should be balanced between efforts in the US market and a new thrust in non-US markets, starting with Canada, Europe and South America. Many vacationers from these regions have cancelled their US travel plans because of security fears.

The US receives 51 million visitors annually, about three times the number of visitors to the region. Inbound travel to the US has fallen dramatically since September 11.

The second element of the strategy means differentiating the Greater Caribbean as a distinct region with a unique travel experience in international tourism. First-time visitors would be encouraged to discover the region, with the aim of making it an ongoing option in their travel plans.

The key words here are diversity and complementarity. Besides the sun, sea and sand tourism of the islands the Greater Caribbean boasts the “Maya World” of Central America, spectacular mountains and waterfalls in the islands and mainland, volcanic activity, pre-Columbian and colonial architecture, eco-tourism attractions and numerous carnival-type festivals. They could be projected internationally as offering a wide range of unique experiences to the sophisticated traveler.

The third element is the promotion of domestic tourism. Costa Rica and Mexico are now doing this by offering special discounts to residents. But domestic tourism in our context should be defined to include intra-regional travel. St. Lucia, for instance, is seeking to attract visitors from neighbouring Martinique; a similar programme has been launched in Central America.

Such programmes could be expanded to become an integral part of the development of regional tourism. It makes use of the region’s diversity, while facilitating cultural understanding and business contact.

A coordinated approach to the region’s tourism could build on sub-regional initiatives already taken by CARICOM and Central America respectively to launch joint promotional campaigns in response to September 11.  And a framework exists in the agreement, negotiated by the ACS, to establish the Greater Caribbean as the first Zone of Sustainable Tourism in the international industry. A Convention to give legal effect to the STZ is to be signed at the 3^rd ACS Summit in December.

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Prof. Norman Girvan is Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States. The views expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS.