Travel and Tourism in the Caribbean by Andrew Spencer

Author:Andrew Spencer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783319695815
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Voices of the Present: Julian Patrick Director, Product Development & Community Tourism, TPDCo , Jamaica

Destination Assurance and Community Tourism: The Framework for Sustained Competitive Advantage in Tourism for Caribbean Economies

There is a common dialectic within the tourism space globally which interrogates the need for a common approach or solution to the challenges faced by the industry. The search is on for the right ingredients, the intervening practices that will underpin survival and success in a hypercompetitive market. The exigencies of the sharing economy have far outpaced the policy and legislative capacity of most countries, political and regional priorities have dulled the assurance optimisation of others and the ever present circumstance of natural disasters exacts a worrying toll on the mind of tourism interests vis-à-vis vulnerabilities. Within this maelstrom there are two separate but equal concepts that entail and can enshrine the only platform for sustained competitive advantage for Caribbean nations.

Sustainability and Community Tourism

If the consensus amongst scholars is that the “Environment Is the Product” then the urgency of initiatives would undertake a requisite alacrity. Unfortunately, there is very low support for the “line in the sand” measures that are necessary now, today. The tourism product is the ultimate example of death by success, whereby consumption of the product brings it closer to the doorsteps of decline, both in the natural environment and in the cultural modalities that combine to create the Caribbean experience. Whereas the broad area of sustainability intervenes on macro perspectives, the element of community tourism obtains a more granular level of involvement by stakeholders and could lend itself to a gargantuan shift for Caribbean economies along all quantifiable and some non-quantifiable measures of development.

Whether as a facilitator of induced consumption or as a destination comprised of unique experiences, the excavation of this concept requires Caribbean nations to explore all the consequences and circumstances unique to their stories, culminating in a more sophisticated and robust appreciation of the value inherent in their preservation and articulation. Our understanding of this value will unlock mechanisms to protect and monetise these stories. It is my belief that countries which understand these nuances soonest and are agile enough to respond will ultimately be able to create the unique selling positions required to create sustained competitive advantage within the next 15–20 years. The natural migration of the entire flock of tourists will incline invariably to the countries that offer the greater diversity of products.

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