Value of multi-destination tourism

Though the tourist destinations of the Greater Caribbean region embrace a variety of cultures and boast great variety in both natural and man-made attractions, they all recognise that tourism is a highly competitive industry and that there is competition from destinations within the region as well as from those outside of the region.

Destinations in the region must therefore employ innovative marketing techniques and offer excellent standards of service in order to ensure the success and sustainability of the industry in the long term.

The achievement of sustainability in tourism is one objective of the Association of Caribbean States’ initiative to develop the Sustainable Tourism Zone of the Greater Caribbean (STZC).

The zone is defined as “a geographically determined cultural, socio-economic and biologically rich and diverse unit, in which tourism development will depend on sustainability and the principles of the integration, co-operation and consensus, aimed at facilitating the integrated development of the Caribbean.”

The ACS recognises that in order to achieve sustainability in tourism, appropriate tourism strategies will have to be developed.

Multi-destination tourism has been identified as having the potential to advance the realisation of the STZC as well as to enhance single destination tourism and intraregional tourism.

Multi-destination tourism is conceived as “a potentially effective and profitable way of expanding and deepening economic activity in more than one community through the expansion of the population of those communities by short stay visitors who are on a single trip and who have a disposition for expenditure on services that provide value.”

The primary target clientele for this type of tourism is the more adventurous, culturally oriented tourist who wishes to interact with the host community.

The multi-destination vacation experience will require longer than average stays and will attract those with active lifestyles and more discretionary time and income.

While the vacation experience for the multi-destination tourist promises to be more diverse and potentially more satisfying, developing this niche product may prove challenging to some host countries.

A vast majority of visitors to the Caribbean experience multi-destination tourism through cruising where the cruise itself is a primary motivator. There are no overnight stays in cruise ship tourism and there is minimal conversion of cruise passengers to long stay tourists. Many also hold the view that cruise lines themselves are in competition with the destinations upon which they call.

From the tourist and the travel trade perspective, planning the multidestination vacation will be more complex, time consuming and will require a greater attention to detail. Once in the destinations, the tourist may experience more disappointments as relates to the consistency in service levels and product quality amongst the destinations.

Two of the basic requirements for facilitating multi-destination tourism in the region are the consistently reliable and reasonably priced intraregional airline services and the efficient and customer-service oriented facilities at ports of entry.

Notwithstanding the challenges involved in meeting these requirements, multi-destination tourism presents interesting prospects both at the destination and regional levels.

Individual destinations will have the opportunity to explore new markets in a cost-effective manner and to develop a more competitive product. There is also potential to increase the report visitor factor through multi-destination packages.

At the regional level, regional tourism organisations can exploit the potential for profitable diversification and rebranding of the Caribbean tourism product.

A recent forum on multi-destination tourism hosted by the regional council of Martinique recognised that while this initiative must be driven by the private sector, the support of tourism policy makers is crucial to its success.

Jasmin Garraway is the sustainable tourism director of the Association of Caribbean States. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Comments and reactions can be sent to: mail@acs-aec.org