CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION 62 ND REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MADIANA CONVENTION CENTRE SCHŒLCHER MARTINIQUE

Transcription

1 CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION 62 ND REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MADIANA CONVENTION CENTRE SCHŒLCHER MARTINIQUE OCTOBER 16, 2013

2 Ground Floor, Baobab Tower, Warrens, St. Michael, BB22026, Barbados. Tel:(246) /Fax:(246) Websites: September 25, 2013 The Hon. Beverly Nicholson Doty Chairman of the Council of Tourism Ministers and Commissioners, Caribbean Tourism Organization Commissioner of Tourism U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism #78 Contant Elainco Building P.O. Box 6400 St. Thomas U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS Dear Chairman: It gives me great pleasure to send for the information of yourself, the Council of Tourism Ministers and Commissioners and the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the attached document covering the Organization s work for the period June through September Yours sincerely, Hugh Riley Secretary General Caribbean Tourism Organization cc. Ms. Chantal Figueroa, Chairman, Board of Directors

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Board of Directors Agenda.i Minutes of the 62 nd Meeting of the CTO Board of Directors...1 Report of the Secretary General.21 Report of the Director of Research & Information Technology 29 Report of the Director of CTO-USA, Inc Report of the Director of Marketing UK & Europe.40 Report of the Communications Specialist 49 Report of the Director of Regional Human Resource Development.53 Report of the Sustainable Tourism Product Specialist..58 Report of the Director of Membership Services 65 Report of the Director of Finance & Resource Management..68 Reports of the Affiliate & Allied Members...72

4 THE 63 RD MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, :30 A.M. TO 11:00 A.M. Tainos Room, Madiana Convention Centre, Schœlcher, Martinique DRAFT AGENDA 1. Call to order, Roll Call, Invocation, Welcome of New Directors and Adoption of the Agenda 2. Sponsor s presentation 3. Confirmation of the Minutes of the 62 nd Meeting of the Board of Directors held Thursday, June 6, 2013 at the New Yorker Hotel, New York, USA 4. Matters arising from the Minutes 5. Affiliate and Allied Members Reports 6. Status update on the Caribbean tourism sector by Director of Research and Information Technology 7. Status Report on 2013 Measures of Success Secretary General s Office and Divisions of the CTO Performance Management Indicators Secretary General and Division Heads 9. Discussion on and approval of 2014 Budget 10. Discussion on the membership revocation policy recommendation 11. Organizational Audit Update Approval of Key Recommendations 12. Information and Discussion Items a. Update on the CTO Aviation Task Force b. Update on the Caribbean Tourism Development Company c. Discussion on the Food Tourism Strategy and Action Plan d. Key results of the Member Priorities Assessment Survey 13. New/Old Business 14. Date of the next meeting 15. Adjournment

5 MINUTES OF THE 62 ND MEETING OF THE CTO BOARD OF DIRECTORS HELD AT THE NEW YORKER HOTEL, NEW YORK, NY, USA, ON THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 AT 8:00 A.M. ATTENDANCE U.S. Virgin Islands Ms. Chantal Figueroa - Chairman Present Anguilla Ms. Candis Niles Present Antigua & Barbuda Mr. Corthwright Marshall Present Bahamas Mr. David Johnson Present Barbados Ms. Averil Byer Present Belize Ms. Laura Esquivel Frampton Present Bermuda Mr. William Griffith Present Bonaire Ms. Marie Rosa Present B.V.I. Mrs. Sharon Flax-Mars Present Cayman Islands Mr. Shomari Scott Present Cuba Mr. Jose Manuel Bisbe Absent Curaçao Mr. Ghatim Kabbara Absent Dominica Mr. Colin Piper Absent Grenada Ms. Christine Noel-Horsford Present Guadeloupe Mr. Willy Rosier Absent Guyana Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh Absent Haiti Ms. Maryse Noel Present Jamaica Mr. John Lynch Present Martinique Mr. Patrice Bensalem Present Montserrat Ms. Elveta Chalmers Absent Puerto Rico Ms. Mari Jo Laborde Present St. Eustatius Mr. Charles Lindo Present St. Kitts & Nevis Mrs. Carolyn James Present Saint Lucia Mr. Louis Lewis Present St. Maarten Mr. Edward Dest Present St. Martin Ms. Silviane John Present St. Vincent & The Grenadines Ms. Kathique Haynes Present Trinidad & Tobago Ms. Juliana Johan-Boodram Present Turks & Caicos Mr. Ralph Higgs Present Venezuela Ms. Irene A. Rondón Graterol Absent DIRECTORS FOR CHTA Mr. Richard Doumeng Mr. George demercado Present Absent DIRECTORS FOR AIRLINES American Airlines Mr. Philip Olivieri Absent Air Canada Mr. Vijay Bathija Absent British Airways Ms. Diane Corrie Absent Caribbean Airlines Mr. Robert Corbie Absent LIAT Captain Ian Brunton Absent DIRECTORS FOR CRUISE LINES FCCA Ms. Michele Paige Present Royal C bean Cruise Lines Mr. Michael Ronan Present Princess Cruises Mr. Stephen Nielsen Absent DIRECTORS FOR ALLIEDS Global Bridal Group Mrs. Jacqueline Johnson Present College of the Bahamas Professor Ruth Gardiner Present May Hinds Consulting Ms. May Hinds Absent Cititech Solutions Mr. Leonid McFarlane Present National Tour Assoc. Ms. Lisa Simon Present DIRECTORS FOR CHAPTERS Eastern USA Ms. Kimber Leivi Absent AFFILIATE DIRECTORS ACS Amb. H.E. Alfonso Múnera Absent CCAA Ms. Sally Yearwood Present OAS Mr. Richard Campbell Present WTTC Mr. David Scowsill Absent PAHO Dr. Ernest Pate Absent IICA Mrs. Ena C. Harvey Present OECS Dr. Len Ishmael Absent UNWTO Mr. Taleb Rifai Absent CARICOM Ms. Lilia Ramjeawan Absent CCL Mr. Levere Richards Absent HONORARY DIRECTORS Dr. Jean Holder American Express Mr. Reuben Page Absent Present Absent 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 1

6 OTHER DELEGATES Antigua & Barbuda Bahamas Belize Martinique Trinidad & Tobago Turks & Caicos CTDC Mr. Warren Binder Mr. Rafael Cardozo Mr. Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace Mr. Colin James Mr. Earlston McPhee Ms. Tracy Panton Ms. Muriel Wiltord-Latamie Ms. Shelley-Ann De Gazon Ms. Aisha Sylvester Mr. Kingsley Been STAFF Barbados USA Mr. Hugh Riley Ms.Sharon Coward Ms. Charlene Drakes Ms. Faye Gill Mr. Winfield Griffith Ms. Gail Henry Mr. Johnson JohnRose Mrs. Bonita Morgan Mr. Ryan Skeete Mr. Neil Walters Mr. Fernando Abreu Ms. Sylma Brown-Bramble UK Ms. Carol Hay 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 2

7 THE 62 ND MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION THURSDAY, JUNE 6, :00 A.M. TO 10:00 A.M. Sutton Place Suite, New Yorker Hotel, New York, USA AGENDA 1. Call to order, Roll Call, Invocation, Welcome of New Directors and Adoption of the Agenda 2. Confirmation of the Minutes of the 61 st Meeting of the Board of Directors held Sunday, January 20, 2013 at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Paradise Island, the Bahamas 3. Matters arising from the Minutes 4. Mid-Year Performance: Measures of Success Secretary General and Division Heads 5. Organizational Audit Update Final Report and Approval of Key Recommendations 6. Information Items a. Update on the CTO Aviation Task Force b. Update on the Caribbean Tourism Development Company c. Discussion on the role of the CTO in the three-year Caribbean Spa & Wellness Association Action Plan 7. Affiliate and Allied Members reports 8. New/Old Business 9. Date of the next meeting 10. Adjournment 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 3

8 FOLLOW-UP ACTION 1. CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 8:02 a.m. after which the roll call was taken by Mr. Neil Walters, Director of Finance & Resource Management of the CTO. At this time it was noted that there were insufficient members present to establish a quorum. However, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ms. Chantal Figueroa, proceeded with the meeting, on the understanding that any decisions requiring a vote would need to await a quorum. For this reason, the Adoption of the Agenda and the Confirmation of the Minutes of the previous Board of Directors Meeting were deferred until a later time in the meeting. 2. INVOCATION This was delivered by Mr. Hugh Riley, Secretary General and CEO of the CTO. 3. WELCOME OF NEW DIRECTORS OF TOURISM At this time, Director of Tourism of Belize, Ms. Laura Frampton, Director of Tourism of the British Virgin Islands, Mrs. Sharon Flax-Mars, and Director of Tourism of St. Maarten, Mr. Edward Dest, were officially welcomed by the Chairman and were pinned with the CTO and Caribbean logo pins. 4. UPDATE ON THE CARIBBEAN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (CTDC) After indicating that there was no longer a sponsor s presentation and that the item would therefore be removed from the agenda, the Chairman introduced Mr. Vincent Vanderpool- Wallace, the consultant retained for the development of the marketing and sales strategy for the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC), who made a presentation to the Board about the CTDC. This presentation provided an update on the CTDC, highlighted its importance to the marketing and promotion of the Caribbean tourism product, and showcased the CTDC s website Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace showed Life Needs the Caribbean commercials which had been used in previous years, which were a result of combined effort by the private and public sector. He stated that the Beach Boys Kokomo Campaign and the Life Needs the Caribbean Campaign had resulted in an increase in the Caribbean s share of travellers from the USA. He indicated that the CTDC could achieve even greater results through more consistent and sustainable marketing strategies. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 4

9 FOLLOW-UP ACTION He asserted that the CTDC s campaigns would be successful because they would have the support of both the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), in terms of contributing hotel room nights, and the CTO, in terms of its Regional Marketing Fund. The key points of Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace s presentation were: The CTDC would be running television commercials during the most coordinated Caribbean campaign entitled the Caribbean Sun & Fun Sale. There would be a US$1 million Caribbean vacation giveaway contest. The contest would be just one of the strategies employed to deliver promotional value to the Caribbean that would otherwise be impossible. 60% of the CTO s membership was currently participating in CaribbeanTravel.com. A goal of the CTDC was to ensure that all hotels and tourism entities listed their properties on CaribbeanTravel.com. Diversity would be an important element the CTDC would be emphasizing, at the same time ensuring that the diverse products fell under the umbrella of the Caribbean. Hotels would be encouraged to allow for the booking of their rooms to be made directly on CaribbeanTravel.com. The promotion of the Caribbean s tourism products would be broadened, especially via social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+, to ensure widespread visibility of the Caribbean brand. The site was adapted for various electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets. There was an advanced integration of Google Earth so that customers could identify the locations of places of interest and their proximity to their hotel. Videos and large-format images of hotels and other travel and tourism products were used on the website so that consumers would have greater insight into the experience of a particular country prior to arrival. A monthly report was produced which provided a granularly detailed analysis of visitor activity on CaribbeanTravel.com. The Caribbean logo, which was on CaribbeanTravel.com, could be placed at the bottom of a country s tourism website. Clicking on the logo would direct the user to the country s specific page on the CTDC website, instead of the CaribbeanTravel.com homepage. This was one element of link sharing which would be accomplished. Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace also expressed that the CTO and the CHTA had decided to own the Caribbean brand collectively because: Warm-weather destinations were the most desired. The most desired destination among North Americans was the Caribbean. People who travel to warm weather destinations were destination collectors they were inclined to travel to another destination irrespective of the gratification of their experience in the previous destination. The Caribbean, as an idea, was a much more powerful idea than a single destination. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 5

10 FOLLOW-UP ACTION Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace then explained that the CTDC was not only a website, but that the aim was to ensure that the website was at the core of all the CTDC s efforts. The full presentation is available at President of the CHTA, Mr. Richard Doumeng related to the Board that CaribbeanTravel.com would allow all tourism-related businesses, which were members of their national associations, to rival the big hotel chains and other entities at no cost to them. He indicated that they would have a listing on the website and there would be a link to their own websites. He then indicated that the content on CaribbeanTravel.com would provide customers planning their vacation with a full national experience before arriving at the destination. He also indicated that each destination s and hotel s page had a unique image instead of a generic listing. He stated that the unique design of each destination s page sought to embrace the diversity of the Caribbean countries and their tourism products. Mr. Doumeng then encouraged the Board to support CaribbeanTravel.com in order to take it to the next level. He emphasized that it was a worthy cause. The Chairman indicated that since 60% of the members had been participating in CaribbeanTravel.com, she wanted to know the reason that the other 40% had not been participating. Mrs. Juliana Johan-Boodram of Trinidad & Tobago asked if all the hotels registered on the website had been assessed for quality assurance to ensure they were of an acceptable standard. She also enquired about the inbuilt measures put in place to ensure that the data in the reports was analyzed by the CTO and the CHTA, as well as to ensure that the data was distributed to all members. Mr. Doumeng responded that quality assurance of the hotels was carried out at the individual destination level. Mr. Rafael Cardozo of Tambourine added that the quality of the content the hotels were using on their pages on the website such as images, for example was being screened. He also stated that the analytics the website produced were a great achievement in terms of measurement of performance of the website. He also related that Tambourine distributed the analysis reports to the entire CTDC Board. Subsequently, Mr. Cardozo stated that the goal was for CaribbeanTravel.com to be a lead generation website for destinations and hotels, and that currently CaribbeanTravel.com was at 30% lead generation. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 6

11 FOLLOW-UP ACTION He indicated that presently, no single destination was receiving the lion share of traffic, and it therefore meant that smaller players were benefitting from the website as well. Mr. Shomari Scott of the Cayman Islands asked if there was a benchmark set for unique visits to the website, at present and in the future, to ensure that the marketing was effective. He also commented on the lack of booking functionality on the website. He indicated that the Cayman Islands website had a booking functionality. He stated that if visitors left the Cayman Islands tourism website and went to the CTDC website, they would be unable to make bookings. He then asked if the CTDC planned to re-invest some of its profits. Mr. Doumeng responded that the intention was not to monetize the website immediately, but rather to produce a greater number of leads to individual destinations websites. He stressed that the first phase was to direct a visitor to the site of an individual country or hotel. Mr. Cardozo indicated that the Caribbean logo on a country s or hotel s site would be regarded as a badge of participation. Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace indicated that the CTDC had a target number of views, but it had not yet been approved. He stated that the CTDC was working towards CaribbeanTravel.com attaining in a month the number of views an individual website received in a year. He also indicated that when the CTDC provided the reports to the CTO and the CHTA, they would then disseminate them to their membership. 5. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA At this time sufficient members of the Board of Directors were present for a quorum to be established. Therefore, the Agenda of the 62 nd Meeting of the Board of Directors was adopted as circulated on a motion by Antigua & Barbuda and seconded by Trinidad & Tobago. 6. CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE 61 ST MEETING The Minutes of the 61 st Meeting of the Board of Directors held on Sunday, January 20, 2013 in the Bahamas were approved as circulated on a motion by Antigua & Barbuda and seconded by Barbados and Jamaica. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 7

12 FOLLOW-UP ACTION 7. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES The Chairman indicated that matters arising from the Minutes would be addressed during the course of the meeting, and, in the interest of time, the meeting would proceed to the next item on the agenda. 8. MID-YEAR PERFORMANCE: MEASURES OF SUCCESS SECRETARY GENERAL AND DIVISION HEADS The Secretary General and the Heads of Division delivered presentations which outlined the measures of success of their respective divisions, and provided updates on the progress made to date towards achieving those measures. Secretary General s Report Secretary General and CEO Mr. Hugh Riley began by confirming the CTO s 2017 vision, which was to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination by He then outlined the CTO s 2013 mission which is to provide strategic leadership in tourism in order to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination by He subsequently stated that the Secretary General s 2013 mission was to rebuild Member Confidence in the CTO in order to provide strategic leadership in tourism. He then spoke on the strategic alignment of the organisation, indicating that he and the division heads of the CTO worked in tandem and were incorporated into a structure in which each head had a role to play in achieving the CTO s mission and vision. He highlighted the recent hiring of a Membership Services Director, Ms. Faye Gill (whom he then introduced to the Board), emphasizing the need for such a role to ensure that membership issues were adequately addressed. Mr. Riley then outlined his measures of success, which included: the retention of members in good financial standing; an increase in member satisfaction by a specified amount; participation in the Total Visitor Satisfaction (TVS) programme; and improved collection in membership dues. Regarding the retention of members in good financial standing, Mr. Riley indicated that there had been some success as well as attempts at further improvement. He also indicated that he and the Chairman of the Council of Tourism Ministers and Commissioners, the Hon. Beverly Nicholson Doty, had been making an increasing number of country visits, and that they had accomplished four country meetings to date. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 8

13 FOLLOW-UP ACTION He conveyed that the large number of new Directors of Tourism (17) and Ministers of Tourism (23) since January 2012 warranted frequent contact with the various member countries to ensure the new Directors and Ministers were made aware of the benefits of the CTO. Mr. Riley indicated that efforts to increase participation in the Total Visitor Satisfaction (TVS) programme had included assigning a member of staff specifically to the TVS programme. That person, he indicated, was the recently hired Deputy Director of Research, Mr. Ryan Skeete, whom he then introduced to the Board. Mr. Riley also indicated that the CTO was in the process of creating a website for the TVS programme. In regard to increasing non-government funding, Mr. Riley related that the CTO had secured some level of extra-regional funding which was primarily being used to provide programmes for member countries at no additional cost to the members. He also stated that it was necessary to have a member of staff dedicated specifically to securing external funding, and that the CTO Secretariat would be assigning someone to fill that role in the second half of Mr. Riley then indicated that his measure of success to ensure that the Caribbean outperforms the global increase in tourism was directly related to the CTDC. He stated that due to the CTDC s functions as the marketing company and the owner of the Caribbean brand, the Caribbean would not outperform global increases in tourism until the CTDC was successful. He stated that if the Caribbean was going to compete with the world, the Caribbean had to significantly improve its marketing. Mr. Riley then called on the Board of Directors to actively engage with and provide frank feedback to the CTO; honour their financial commitments; designate a staff member to be their key CTO contact; commit to the CTO s purpose of Leading Sustainable Tourism One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean ; and to become aligned nationally to the regional vision. Mr. Riley s presentation is available at Regional Human Resource Development Report Director of Regional Human Resource Development Mrs. Bonita Morgan began her presentation by stating that her department s mission was: to deliver exceptional tourism experiences by strengthening the human capital of our members and the CTO, in order to rebuild member confidence in the CTO. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 9

14 FOLLOW-UP ACTION She then outlined the Measures of Success of her department and the progress made towards achieving them. One measure of success she highlighted was expanding the Hospitality Assured programme from eight to twelve countries. She indicated that to date she had visited Belize, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and would be visiting more countries in the near future. She also indicated that 25 new companies signed on to the Hospitality Assured programme was the target for Another measure of success mentioned was ensuring 75 tour guides subscribed to the regional certification programme. She related that the training materials had been completed and sent to all members with the intention of these countries using them to certify their tour guides. Subsequently, she commented on the department s efforts to achieve its measure of success of 100 tourism personnel commencing foreign language training in She stated that this initiative would begin with a research project to assess the need for foreign language skills and competencies in the tourism sector so that a programme could be designed to train tourism personnel in the member countries. She also related that, to date, 712 persons had signed up for the Livemocha online language training programme through the CTO. She then stated that efforts to track 100% of CTO Foundation graduates were on-going and that so far 25% of the graduates had been tracked via a tracer study. Mrs. Morgan also expressed that, as it related to the measure of success to establish a regional spa and wellness committee, the project steering committee was not satisfied with the sector strategy and that fine-tuning of the strategy was still underway. She stated that, once completed, this strategy would be shared with the members of the CTO. Bonita Morgan She subsequently shared with the Board the new initiatives of the department. These included office etiquette and protocol training, Public Relations to launch Tourism Studies as a Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subject through the Caribbean Examinations Council in 2014, and the Global Tourism Youth Congress. The complete presentation is available at Communications Report Communications Specialist Mr. Johnson JohnRose stated that the mission of the Communications Division was: to successfully deliver communications services across our diverse membership in order to rebuild member confidence in the CTO. He then outlined the measures of success, which included: raising members satisfaction level with the CTO s communications; improving members knowledge of the CTO; increasing the demand for the CTO s crisis communications and media training services; increasing the use of social media; and delivering the inaugural Diaspora Conference at least at break even. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 10

15 FOLLOW-UP ACTION Mr. JohnRose indicated that in an effort to raise members satisfaction level with the CTO s communications, the CTO s press releases were now being issued in the four official languages of the countries comprising the CTO. He also indicated that he had secured media coverage for Trinidad & Tobago during the 14 th Annual Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-14) and television time for St. Eustatius. Mr. JohnRose subsequently indicated that efforts to improve members knowledge of the CTO included the production of two live TV shows and the organisation of Caribbean Tourism Month in November 2012, which had been very successful. In regard to increasing demand for the CTO s crisis communications and media training services, Mr. JohnRose related that three seminars in member countries had been conducted as well as a public relations workshop at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Western Jamaica Campus. He then indicated that there was an increased use of social media tools, including Skype, Facebook, and Twitter, to promote and provide updates on all CTO events. He then stated that finalization of the details of the inaugural Diaspora Conference was still pending. Mr. JohnRose concluded by stating that due to the CTO s efforts, there had been an increase in journalists writing articles about tourism who had not done so previously. He consequently called on the Board to support the hosting of more workshops for Caribbean journalists. The full presentation can be viewed at CTO-USA, Inc. Report Director of CTO-USA, Inc. Ms. Sylma Brown-Bramble stated that the mission of CTO-USA, Inc. was: to maximize the value of the CTO s presence in its major source market in order to rebuild member confidence in the CTO. She then outlined the measures of success, which were related to the increase of: revenue from non-government membership; net revenue from special events; private sector membership and members visibility in the marketplace. Ms. Brown-Bramble noted that a primary focus of CTO-USA, Inc. was profit generation as it was registered as a for profit organisation. She indicated that in terms of increasing revenue from non-government membership, CTO- USA, Inc. had secured US$22,000 in funding from the American Express Company. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 11

16 FOLLOW-UP ACTION Regarding private sector membership, she noted that there had been a slight decline, from 313 to 297 members. She indicated, however, that this situation was not unusual, as companies frequently renewed their membership at Caribbean Week. She also stated that a significant increase in membership was expected in October in Martinique at the State of the Industry Conference. Subsequently, Mrs. Brown-Bramble related to the Board that the target for net revenue earned from special events was US$200,000 and that US$15,000 and US$10,000 had been earned from the State of the Industry Conference in October, 2012 and STC-14 in April, 2013 respectively. She also highlighted other important activities in which CTO-USA, Inc. was involved. Among these were: working with Mr. JohnRose to liaise with the Caribbean Diaspora; working in tandem with the Greater Allen Church of New York to foster faith-based travel; and contributing to the development of CaribbeanTravel.com. Ms. Brown-Bramble subsequently encouraged the Board to be more proactive in providing input and feedback to the organisation, responding to requests for support and participation, and approving projects and events. She also called on the Board to advocate on behalf of the CTO. The full presentation is available at Sustainable Tourism Development Report Sustainable Tourism Product Specialist Ms. Gail Henry related that the 2013 mission for her division was: to champion sustainable tourism development in the Caribbean towards a viable, resilient and high quality tourism sector in order to rebuild Member Confidence in the CTO. She then outlined the Measures of Success and the progress made towards achieving them. One measure of success highlighted was the successful execution or implementation of sustainable tourism projects that were aligned to members needs in terms of sustainable tourism needs, food tourism, hotel energy efficiency and experiential tourism. Ms. Henry indicated that, to this end, there had been a study on regional sustainable tourism needs and priorities, a food tourism webinar series had been conducted in the third quarter of 2012, the preliminary identification of hotels that would be audited for energy efficiency had been completed, and a draft project concept note had been shared with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Canadian High Commission in Barbados for funding consideration. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 12

17 FOLLOW-UP ACTION When outlining the measure of success to increase participation of CTO members in the Sustainable Tourism Conference and webinars by 20%, Ms. Henry indicated that there had been an 83% increase in member country participation in the Sustainable Tourism Conference in 2013 over the previous year. In regard to securing a 50% increase in participation in the CTO Sustainable Tourism Awards in 2013 over the previous year, Ms. Henry indicated that a record 29 applications were received by 37% of the CTO s member countries. She also outlined the new initiatives in which the division was involved. These included an effort between the CTO, the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), the Organization of American States (OAS), Sustainable Travel International (STI) and the CARIBSAVE Partnership, to establish a regional cooperative framework for sustainable tourism development; Sustainable Tourism Product Development workshops and webinars; and the establishment of the Caribbean Food Tourism Alliance. Ms. Henry then indicated that the host country for the next Sustainable Tourism Conference had not been confirmed. She encouraged the Directors of Tourism to contact her afterwards if they were interested in their respective countries being the host of STC-15. The complete presentation is available at Marketing UK & Europe Report Director of Marketing, UK and Europe Ms. Carol Hay began her presentation by outlining the Measures of Success of the CTO UK/Europe. These pertained to an increase in arrivals to the Caribbean from UK/Europe, increased satisfaction levels at events and increased external funding for events. She then outlined the milestones reached in terms of achieving the measures of success. In relation to an increase in international arrivals from UK/Europe from 3.6 million to 3.7 million, she indicated that the Caribbean received approximately 760,811 UK and European tourists up to April 30, She also related that in the first quarter of 2013 the CTO UK/Europe had secured 34,000 of the 200,000 in external sponsorship aimed at being obtained. Ms. Hay also stated that the evaluation surveys indicated that there was an 85% level of satisfaction of exhibitors which exceeded the 80% total satisfaction target. She then outlined challenges faced by the CTO UK/Europe such as low economic growth, taxation, membership engagement and limited funds. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 13

18 FOLLOW-UP ACTION She also indicated that Russians had conveyed to her that the stringent entry requirements of Caribbean countries discouraged the travel of Russian nationals to these countries. She stated that it was necessary for the Caribbean to strongly consider revising their entry requirements in an effort to increase tourist arrivals from countries which could potentially become major source markets. Ms. Hay then summarized the activities and events in which the CTO UK/Europe had been involved from January to May, 2013, as well as the events for the rest of the year in which the division would be participating. The full presentation can be viewed at Research & Information Technology Report Director of Research & Information Technology Mr. Winfield Griffith stated that the 2013 mission for his department was to strengthen Tourism decision making through provision of quality research, statistical analysis and Information Technology services in order to rebuild member confidence in the CTO. He then outlined the department s measures of success. Among those highlighted were the implementation of the TVS programme in 10 member countries; the full adoption of the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) Framework by five member countries; and securing the mobilization of resources for TSA and TVS. Regarding the installation of TVS, Mr. Griffith indicated that pilot programmes had been executed in six countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago. He also related that four other countries were expected to participate in the project in the coming months. He then stated that funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the implementation of the TSA Framework had been secured for four countries. He also related that the request for funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for the same purpose had been denied and that an appeal was pending. He stated, however, that other potential donors would be approached. Mr. Griffith concluded his presentation by outlining the new initiative the department had recently undertaken, namely the re-development of the CTO s website, OneCaribbean.org. He then introduced the CTO s Intranet Administrator Ms. Sharon Coward to provide an overview of the new website. Mr. Griffith s full presentation is available at 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 14

19 FOLLOW-UP ACTION New & Improved OneCaribbean.org Intranet Administrator Sharon Coward first showed images of the previous website. She then indicated that the findings of a user survey showed that, while 43% of the respondents agreed that it was easy to navigate through the website, 38% disagreed, which was a concern. She indicated that the survey also showed that the primary reason for visiting the website was to obtain tourism statistics. She subsequently showed images of the new website, which was fully operational, highlighting the new design and layout. Ms. Coward indicated that there was more functionality on the new website. She then highlighted the advantages of the new website. These were: the inclusion of a statistics database which allowed users to compile data as required; a job board where vacancies could be posted and viewed; the facility for members to update their information; the ability to register for conferences online; and the collection of users addresses when they subscribed to receive content directly from the CTO. This presentation is available at Finance & Resource Management Report Director of Finance & Resource Management Mr. Neil Walters began his presentation by indicating that the mission of his department was: to strengthen the CTO s financial stability and sustainability in order to rebuild Member Confidence in the CTO. Subsequently, he outlined his department s measures of success for Those highlighted included the collection of 100% of membership dues by December 2013, 100% of the CTO s members in good financial standing by the end of the year and the reduction of Regional Monetary Fund arrears by 40%. Mr. Walters indicated that 20% of membership dues for 2013 and previous years had been collected at the start of the year, which translated to US$1.69 million. He also indicated that 53% of the dues collected were for He further noted that that level of collection exceeded the 2012 level. He then stated that 13 of the CTO s 30 member countries were in good financial standing as of May 8, He indicated that among the members not in good financial standing were three members in more than three years of arrears. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 15

20 FOLLOW-UP ACTION Mr. Walters subsequently indicated that by May 8, 2013, membership dues arrears had decreased by 18.3%, resulting from a collection of US$815,171. He also noted that quarterly billings, which commenced in 2013, had assisted members with managing their cash flows. He also conveyed that the reduction in RMF arrears had been achieved primarily through the downward adjustment of the 2012 RMF dues under the new RMF formula which was approved at the meeting of the Board of Directors in January, Mr. Walters then indicated that the new initiative in which the department was involved, which was launched in the first quarter of 2013, was a programme aimed at streamlining the CTO s accounting system s ability to more effectively recover from a natural disaster. He conveyed that the need for the programme was prompted by Hurricane Sandy s effects on New York, which limited CTO-USA, Inc. s financing and accounting functions for a period of time. He related that the first phase of the programme would be completed by mid-july in the Barbados and New York offices, and that the second phase would be implemented to incorporate the UK office in the near future. The full presentation can be viewed at 9. RECOMMENDATIONS COMING OUT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING At the end of his presentation, Mr. Walters informed the Board of the two recommendations coming out of the Executive Committee meeting held the previous day, which pertained to members fulfilling their financial obligations. He indicated that the first recommendation intended to address the CTO s cash flow problem. The recommendation was that the CTO s revocation rule be changed to effect revocation of a country s membership after one year of arrears instead of three years as was stipulated in the present CTO Agreement & By-laws. He stated that the second recommendation was to write off the RMF arrears from 2005 to 2011, an amount of US$6 million. The Chairman related to the Board that the one-year revocation policy would require a constitutional change. She then conveyed to the Directors that if they wanted their countries to be involved in the CTO s activities, they would have to pay their RMF obligations. She reminded the Directors that the CTO was their organisation, and if their needs were not being met, the onus was on them to voice their concerns and ensure that the desired changes were made. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 16

21 FOLLOW-UP ACTION She then indicated that if the members made a steadfast commitment to the CTO s 2017 vision, and to paying their yearly RMF obligations, the RMF arrears would be written off, provided that the Board approved the recommendation. Mr. Charles Lindo of St. Eustatius stated that there had been mention of visiting the member countries to ascertain the reason that they were not fulfilling their financial obligations. He suggested that these visits should be made before the writing off of arrears was considered, and before steps were made to revoke membership. He also stated that it would not be beneficial for St. Eustatius, as a small island, if only a few countries participated in the CTO s marketing activities. He stated that it was advantageous for small countries to join with larger countries to push marketing. The Chairman assured Mr. Lindo that there would be a process to the revocation and it would not be carried out without in-depth assessment. Ms. Figueroa further stated that the organisation had a cash flow problem. She asserted that all members suffered when some members did not pay their dues. She also related to the Board that the Chairman of the Council of Tourism Ministers and Commissioners intended to visit all the member countries during her tenure as Chairman. Mr. Riley stated that the CTO was still in the marketing business because it half-owned the CTDC. He informed the Board that during the country meetings, the CTDC would be discussed. Ms. Averil Byer of Barbados suggested that the reason for the recommendation to write off the RMF arrears be explained, given that there were several new Directors who may be unaware of the existing situation requiring the need for such a recommendation. Mr. Riley stated that now that the CTDC was more established, it was necessary for the member countries to make more of a commitment to the company. Huge levels of arrears, sometimes incurred by previous administrations, often acted as a deterrent to countries. It was therefore felt that a clean slate, together with a commitment to a specific vision and strategy, might be the way to proceed. Mr. Corthwright Marshall of Antigua & Barbuda indicated that on the membership dues issue, a one-year revocation policy would pose a challenge for Antigua & Barbuda. He stated that the country was experiencing social and financial challenges, and that he would not want Antigua & Barbuda thrown out of the CTO after one year of not paying their dues. Mr. Marshall then expressed that he would like Antigua & Barbuda to be a priority on the list of member countries to be visited. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 17

22 FOLLOW-UP ACTION Ms. Figueroa assured the Board that the CTO did not want to throw out any of its members; however, the CTO needed funds to operate efficiently for the benefit of its members. She stated that shortening the payment deadline to one year would allow the CTO to be more financially stable. Mrs. Carolyn James of St. Kitts & Nevis enquired about 2011 being the cut-off point for the writing off of arrears instead of The Chairman explained that the proposal was first made in 2012, and therefore, only RMF dues up to 2011 could have been considered. Mr. Ralph Higgs of the Turks and Caicos Islands asked about the consequences of paying membership dues and not RMF obligations. He indicated that members should have the option of participating in the marketing efforts of the CTO when they thought it would be beneficial for them to do so. He also stated that in so doing, countries should also be able to pursue their own marketing ventures when they wished. Ms. Figueroa indicated that members should allow the CTO to assist them with the other initiatives they wished to pursue, rather than doing it independently. Mr. Riley stated that the purpose of the RMF was to market the Caribbean. He stated that the CTDC website, for example, would deliver more traffic to the member countries websites than their individual efforts. He also informed the Board that even if they made the decision to present the one-year revocation recommendation to the Council of Tourism Ministers and Commissioners, there would still be at least a 6-month constitutional process before the rule was ratified. Mr. Leonid McFarlane of Cititech Solutions asked why it was being proposed that the RMF arrears be written off instead of the membership dues arrears. The Chairman responded that constitutional issues allowed for more latitude regarding the writing off of RMF dues than Membership dues. Mrs. Johan-Boodram stated that the CTO needed to consider that if some countries decided to pay only a percentage of their RMF obligations, those countries that fully subscribed to the RMF may also decide not to pay in full. She added that the CTDC presentation provided a solid idea of what the CTDC would achieve in terms of marketing the Caribbean product and strengthening the presence of the Caribbean brand on the global stage. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 18

23 FOLLOW-UP ACTION Subsequently, the Chairman asked the Board of Directors to vote on putting forward to the Council of Tourism Ministers and Commissioners the recommendation that the revocation rule of the CTO be changed to effect revocation of membership following one year of financial arrears instead of three years as was stipulated in the present CTO Agreement & Bylaws. The motion to put the recommendation forward was made by St. Eustatius and seconded by Saint Lucia. The majority voted in favour of the motion and it therefore passed. The Chairman then asked the Board if they wished to pass the motion to write off the Regional Marketing Fund arrears, provided that the members pledged their firm commitment to the CTO s 2017 vision. Mr. Lindo enquired about the consequences for countries that continued not paying their RMF obligations for several years even after the writing off of the present arrears. Ms. Figueroa responded that the CTO was working on identifying a solution to that problem. She added that if countries did not honour the commitment, after agreeing to do so, there would be serious repercussions. Mr. Lindo asked if countries which were financially current would be allowed to participate in the decision-making process of revoking the membership of countries in arrears. The Chairman responded in the affirmative. Ms. Mari Jo Laborde of Puerto Rico indicated that members were provided with the CTO s financial reports but they did not have a detailed breakdown of the ways in which the funds were used. Ms. Figueroa indicated that that information was available and that it would be recirculated. Neil Walters Ms. Laborde suggested that the CTO Secretariat outline the way in which the funds they currently received were being used, and an outline of what could be achieved if the full amount of dues was paid. The motion for the Board of Directors of the CTO to write off the Regional Marketing Fund arrears, with the understanding that members would have to be committed to the CTO s 2017 vision, was made by Barbados and seconded by St. Kitts & Nevis. The motion passed. The Chairman then informed the Directors that they would have to sign an agreement which Mr. Walters would circulate. She indicated that a country s RMF arrears would not be written off if that member did not sign the agreement. Neil Walters 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 19

24 FOLLOW-UP ACTION 10. OTHER ITEMS ON THE AGENDA Establishing that there was insufficient time to address the other items on the agenda, the Chairman apologized to the Allied and Affiliate Members for not having the opportunity to report to the Board. 11. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:34 a.m. CONFIRMED:.. DATE.. 62 nd Board of Directors Meeting The New Yorker Hotel New York, USA Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. Page 20

25 SECRETARY GENERAL

26 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL FOR THE PERIOD JUNE TO SEPTEMBER, 2013 Introduction 2017 VISION: To position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination by MISSION: CTO Provide strategic leadership in tourism in order to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination by 2017 The Secretary General s 2013 Mission: Rebuild member confidence in the CTO in order to position the Caribbean as the most desirable year round warm weather destination by The Secretary General s Measures of Success for 2013: (Note that the terminology has been changed to Performance Indicators to more accurately reflect international standards). 1. Retention of existing Government Members in good financial standing 2. Total Member satisfaction increases 3. Substantial increase in awareness of the CTO through social media 4. Total Visitor satisfaction increases % Membership dues collected by December

27 Overview 6. Increase in non-government funding from $1.0m to $1.5m 7. Outperform the projected global increase in tourist arrivals 8. Reduce total level of arrears in marketing contributions Much has changed at the CTO Secretariat during the intense four-month period since the last report to the Board and the Council of Ministers. Specific details of the work of each department will be presented later in this document by individual Department Heads; and separately, the 2014 Work Plans and Budgets will reflect the input of the CTO s membership at various levels. A CTO membership priorities survey was created and distributed to every member of the organization, both public- and private-sector. A detailed strategic planning session has occurred, during which the CTO s Management Team scrutinized the organization s 2013 progress and planned the way forward for A sharper and more efficient tool for measuring the CTO s performance has now been created to improve upon and replace the McKinney Rogers model. A major shift in the CTO s service delivery system has been drafted for presentation to the Board of Directors and the Council of Ministers. Country-visits have been conducted in Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Grenada, Aruba, Curaçao and Guadeloupe. Country-visits have been scheduled for Cuba, Sint Maarten, St. Martin, Bermuda and Belize, while others are proposed. A draft of a regional strategic plan for the Caribbean has been created. Personnel changes have been made in order to strengthen the organization s ability to deliver on its commitments to the members. 22

28 The chairmanship of the CTO Aviation Task Force has changed and that group has continued to provide the services necessary to meet its objectives. A meeting has been held with the CEO and a senior member of the staff of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to advance plans for a detailed scope of CTO/CARPHA collaboration on health threats to the Caribbean tourism industry. A substantial amount of team effort has been dedicated to making the 2013 State of the Industry Conference a success and aligning appropriate experts to tackle the elements of Perfecting the Experience; Delivering Authenticity. Closer collaboration with the Caribbean Tourism Development Company has occurred in regard to an integrated approach to country-visits, performance measurement, cooperation with international tourism bodies and delivering the CTDC s mandate. These are the items which form the basis of the report which is hereby presented in the following abbreviated format: Status of the Secretary General s Performance Indicators: 1. Retention of existing Government Members in good financial standing Progress has been made. An important step toward the achievement of this goal is the effective communication of what the services of the CTO actually are, and an understanding of how the members assess those services. This task becomes even more essential with the rapid turnover of policy-makers among the CTO s member-countries. Properly informing new and existing decision-makers is critically important to retaining the list of financial members. 23

29 During the period under review the Secretariat continually refined the presentation titled What Happens To Your Money and took it on the road in country-visits to Ministers, Directors and tourism practitioners in Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Grenada, Aruba, Curaçao and Guadeloupe. Feedback from the members in those conditions was frank and instructive. Generally there was complete surprise at the range of services offered to members; willingness to make fuller use of the services; the need to have those services and results more clearly communicated to all stakeholders; the tendency to compare the CTO s services to those of other organizations; and the need to understand the difference in delivery of CTO services to payers versus nonpayers. That latter point has become an important recurring theme and has helped to form the basis of a major change that is being proposed in the way the CTO delivers services to its membership. A detailed proposal is being submitted for the consideration of the Board of Directors and the Council of Ministers. At the end of 2013 there will be a clearer indication of whether the goal of retaining existing Government members in good financial standing has been met. 2. Increasing Total Member satisfaction Another vitally important step toward increasing the level of member satisfaction occurred during the period under review. All members were asked to respond to a Member Priorities Assessment Survey, aimed at ensuring that the organization consistently delivers programs and activities that are relevant to its membership. The most urgent purpose was to identify members priorities and incorporate those into the CTO s Work Plans for In the survey members were also asked to make recommendations that are specifically important to their country s needs. The survey received an encouraging 70% response. The summarized results have since been made available to all members on The secretariat believes that this high level of involvement dictates the importance of making the survey a regular feature, while combining it with other essential strategies. 24

30 Agreed strategies which directly engage members in determining how their CTO funds are spent include: Consistent attempts to get all the technical committees functioning, as their input to the workplans is vital; Presenting workplans and progress reports in forums where all members have an opportunity for input, regardless of what technical committee they are part of; Encouraging members to meet with their Vice-Chairs and consolidate their positions within the seven groups of the Executive Committee; Surveying members after each important conference or major activity; Creating effective communication tools to keep members engaged; Delivering on the objective of a detailed presentation to every member country in the course of a year. By the end of 2013 the number of full presentations during country-visits by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, the Secretary General and Director of Membership Services will have totaled Substantial increase in awareness through social media Delivering this particular goal required the secretariat to make a number of fundamental changes in its operation; this has been done with considerable success. Through the combined efforts of the CTO s Communication Specialist, the Intranet Administrator, CTO-USA, Inc. and an intern at Headquarters, the following social media results have been recorded for the period June 01 through September 09, 2013: The CTO currently has 3,458 Facebook fans and 4,745 Twitter followers (up from 3,042 fans and 4,227 followers respectively at May 31, 2013). The CTO s YouTube videos have received 114,258 views, up from 99,141 views in the last reporting period. Caribbean Week New York was the single largest social media attraction so far for During the period May 20 June 14, Caribbean Week NY s Facebook fan page had 1,384 likes. Caribbean Week NY also had 271 Twitter followers and the total number of Twitter users who received Caribbean Week NY tweets totaled almost 1.8 million. Full details are contained in the report by CTO-USA, Inc. s Director. 25

31 4. Total Visitor Satisfaction increases from baseline estimate of 65 to 85 The Caribbean s Total Visitor Satisfaction program, branded as Guestpitality, has adopted a logo and a marketing stance, has been submitted for international scrutiny, and has invited the participation of all CTO member-countries. The program measures the level of satisfaction recorded by visitors to specific Caribbean destinations, in seven categories: Accommodation; Transport & Infrastructure; Customs & Immigration; Sites & Attractions; Safety & Security; Restaurants; and Shopping. It then generates an objective score that determines when a country is awarded a TVS Guestpitality certification that s valid for two years. The system provides a powerful tool for destination enhancement and marketing. It helps participating countries to zero-in on the areas that merit attention and identify how particular demographics view the destination. The reporting is confidential and available only to each individual country. Achieving the performance target of moving member-countries from the baseline to the attainment of a TVS Guestpitality certification score of 85 is a two-part goal: 1. Consistently increasing the number of participating countries; and 2. Providing the data which countries need in order to monitor and ultimately improve their performance. At the time of writing this report in early September 2013, nine countries had either already signed up as pilots or expressed interest in participating % Membership dues collected by December 2013 Efforts to meet this performance target have met with reasonably encouraging results. However, the number of countries in good financial standing at the time of this report was 18, versus 19 during the same period last year. For some countries the introduction of a quarterly billing system has been a useful cash flow tool, while others have preferred to settle in a single payment. 26

32 Success in this particular area is naturally tied to the Performance Management Indicators that focus specifically on ensuring that the CTO is truly meeting the requirements of our members. 6. Increase in non-government funding from $1.0m to $1.5m This amount now stands at $1.1 million compared to $1 million at the end of During the June September period under review the secretariat has: Increased its level of engagement with international financial institutions; met with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Barbados; attended a major donorfunding session in Guyana convened by CARICOM; signed a new tri-partite agreement with the Organization of American States and the Government of Barbados; and completed the re-assignment of the CTO s Director of Regional Human Resource Development to the role of Director of Resource Mobilisation and Development. In addition to a focus on growing the levels of funding from the traditional institutions, the secretariat is making concerted efforts at expanding the list of donor agencies to which various CTO projects can be matched for funding. 7. Outperform the projected global % increase in tourist arrivals As with other CTO Performance Indicators, this one requires close collaboration with the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association and other key elements of Caribbean tourism. In short, leading the growth and performance of Caribbean tourism requires a strategic regional approach; the kind of collaborative effort that was foreseen when the 2017 Vision was conceived. To position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination by 2017 requires that we dissect it, determine what is meant by desirability in this context, focus on how to achieve year-round growth (by air and sea), and how to measure these factors against the performance of our global competitors. 27

33 The secretariat certainly has access to statistical models that show where the region s figures could be at December However, to reach that point requires a strategic plan for the region. While initiating the creation of such a plan is the CTO s responsibility, it will be essential to involve the region s other key tourism stakeholders. The secretariat has drafted the plan s outline and will collaborate with the CTDC on the way forward. 8. Reduce total level of arrears in marketing contributions Success here depends to a significant degree on two main factors: The secretariat s ability to demonstrate the value of the CTO s programs that are funded by the Regional Marketing Fund (RMF) and our ability to illustrate the necessity to fund the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, the marketing and business development entity that s jointly owned by the CTO and the CHTA. On the latter, progress has been slow. Though members have generally embraced the necessity for public/private partnerships in marketing the Caribbean brand, there is an overall reluctance to provide the necessary funding. Some countries have indicated a belief that by themselves they are able to paddle their own canoe as far as marketing is concerned. Various forms of feedback have suggested that the CTDC must pay greater attention to the development area of its function and most especially must keep stakeholders informed of how it intends to fulfill its mandate. For its part the CTO secretariat has continued to work extremely closely with the CTDC at all levels, as well as to provide staffing on an as-needed basis and funding on a limited basis. The CTO has incorporated the role and functions of the CTDC in all its countryvisit presentations and has continued to emphasize that the vision of positioning the Caribbean as the most desirable, year-round, warm-weather destination is simply not attainable without a coordinated, public-private effort. 28

34 RESEARCH & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

35 Mission Statement RESEARCH & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT Report of Activities: April September, 2013 Strengthen Tourism decision making through provision of quality research, statistical analysis and Information Technology services in order to rebuild member confidence in the CTO. Measures of Success TVS system functioning in 10 member countries TSA framework adopted fully in 5 member countries Resources mobilized for TSA and TVS Supply of and demand for department s services increased System developed to respond to all membership queries for intelligence, statistics and research in 1 business day Compliant provision of statistics increased from 24 member countries to at least TOTAL VISITOR SATISFACTION (TVS PROGRAMME) Guestpitality was chosen as the name of the TVS programme A TVS/Guestpitality logo was selected A letter of invitation was sent to all Government members to solicit the participation of at least 10 member countries Preparations are being made to develop tools to give TVS the necessary web presence 2. IDB Regional Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) Implementation Project This Project s primary objective is to establish an accurate, efficient and wellcoordinated statistical system which will produce quality data to assist tourism stakeholders with the continuous measurement of the economic impact of tourism on the economies of the region. This system is designed to enhance and strengthen the ability of the region s tourism policymakers to make well informed decisions. 29

36 2.1 The second component of the TSA project is in progress. This involves a short term consultancy which will produce the following deliverables: (i) A brief inception report detailing the approach and a proposed work plan which outlines the timelines and resource requirements for input from the CTO and the Regional Coordinating Committee. (ii) A TSA presentation to sensitization workshop for Tourism Ministers, Directors of Tourism and other tourism stakeholders in Martinique October (iii) Finalizing comprehensive set of standard forms, questionnaires and documents for use by participating countries (iv) Preparation of a plan of action with timetable and schedules worked out in collaboration with the national agencies (Statistics and Tourism) and the National Coordinating Committees. (v) Present and discuss draft findings and recommendations, particularly for the regional project and its components, at a highlevel meeting on the Tourism Satellite Account. (vi) Finalize the report based on the comments and recommendations agreed upon at the meeting. 2.2 Two of the beneficiary countries (the Bahamas and Jamaica) have a head start in the development of the Tourism Satellite Account, and as a result their sharing of experiences and providing technical guidance is integral to the regional harmonization aspect of the project. In addition, they will benefit from the project through technical assistance in the areas remaining to be developed in their programmes. 3. CORPORATE AND CONSUMER INTERNET SITE ACTIVITY The corporate website OneCaribbean.org was finished and launched May 31, Since launch date, there have been 32,000 visits to the site by 20, 597 unique visitors with page views numbering 85,000. That is on average 10,000 visits per month, almost double the average 5,600 visits per month with the previous design for which Pageviews averaged 15,000 and unique visitors averaged 6,000 during the same period in

37 - Among the new features are : The site can be translated into several languages on the fly Responsive design for mobiles. Easier access for groups Ministers, Directors, Allied members and Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) groups. Plug-in to enhance exposure for non-government members. The membership area also being further enhanced in conjunction with the Membership Services Director. This area will have password protected content for members only. The Intranet Administrator worked with an intern to develop an internal Project Management Tool for the organization. The cruise survey was advertised on CTO s social media accounts and on-line data collection concluded with 1,042 responses having been received. Further work carried out for the sites during this period included: # Online promotion of CTO and member country events # Continued social media support and content placement for CTO and its members # Content (speeches, videos, photos) from Caribbean Week and other events updated and added to OneCaribbean.org, CTO Google Picassa and YouTube accounts. # Other refreshed content, calendar 2013 updates and design revisions periodically # Overall management of CTO domain and PayPal accounts # Management of the CTO s 2013 Livemocha Language training programme # Content on the CTO s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts was updated regularly. On Facebook, the CTO has 3,431 fans, up from 3,042 fans; on Twitter 4,720, up from 4,227. On YouTube, there were 113,805 views, up from 99,141 views, an increase of 15% over the last reporting period. 31

38 4. Tourism Statistics and Research for Region The most recent arrivals statistics for 2012 and 2013 have been published in the respective Latest. During the period under review, the target of two reports per month was met for 2013 data. The reports were distributed to counterparts in regional and international tourism and statistical agencies. They are also available on OneCaribbean.org. Twenty-four countries have submitted data for at least four months of the year. The target of 28 countries is now in jeopardy as the two destinations which received technical assistance with MIST are still not able to produce reports regularly. Additionally, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (BES islands) are still challenged by the implications of the constitutional changes following dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 th October, Haiti has submitted cruise passenger arrivals data and has promised to provide tourist arrivals information. Responded to data and general requests within one working day. A formal request form and procedure has been developed which would allow for monitoring and evaluating the department s response performance. Visitor Survey services provided to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Eustatius. MIST Technical support/assistance provided to Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis and Turks and Caicos. Issues relating to generating reports were resolved using a remote connection (TEAMVIEWER). Commenced discussions with the developer to upgrade/redevelop and possibly rebrand the MIST application. Additional features will be phased in on a shared cost basis with users. 5. Internship Activity. The Division continued its internship programme which is intended to promote research of topics that add value to the regional tourism research agenda while grooming the region s upcoming professionals. One student from the University of the West Indies was assigned to the department from the period June September The intern started work on a research examining the effect of the APD on trade in the Caribbean. 32

39 CTO-USA, INC.

40 REPORT OF CTO-USA, INC. APRIL - AUGUST 2013 MISSION STATEMENT OF CTO-USA, INC. To maximize the value of CTO s presence in its major source market in order to rebuild member confidence in the CTO. MEASURES OF SUCCESS 1. Increase revenue from non-government membership. 2. Secure sponsorship funding for consumer and trade events. 3. Increase private sector membership. 4. Increase net revenue from special events. 5. Increase receipts for the CTO Foundation. 6. Increase members visibility in the marketplace. 7. Maintain a highly motivated, productive team. STATUS REPORT ON MEASURES OF SUCCESS 1. Increase revenue from non-government membership from $50,000 to $75,000. We have surveyed the existing non-government members, reviewed and updated benefits on the basis of the response we received and circulated the non-government membership solicitation to companies that had not renewed their dues in the last 2 years as well as to all companies that do business in the Caribbean. Results Up-to-Date: We have secured $24,000 in funding and $42,225 in membership for a total of $66,

41 2. Secure $100,000 in sponsorship funding for consumer and trade events. Our staff has been working creatively to secure maximum financial support for our projects. A number of efforts are consistently underway to raise sponsorship funds. Results Up-to-Date: We have secured $82,850 from the following activities: ABAV $20,000; WTM $24,000; Adventures in Travel $1,250 and for Caribbean Week in New York $37, Increase private sector membership The increase in the number of private sector members is relative to the increase in the revenue generated from non-government membership. This is an ongoing process. Non-government members choose to join or renew during specific times, such as just before the State of the Industry Conference, so that they may have a presence in the networking session designed to give them access to decision makers of Caribbean tourism. This forum gives our members an insight into the variety of talent that they can tap into among the non-government members. Working with the Membership Services Director, we are developing a comprehensive matrix of the services that CTO will offer to its members. We will also be developing new solicitation pieces. We are also reviewing the process to on-board new members. Results Up-to-Date: We have added 24 new non-government members 22 under the Allied member category, 1 under the Carrier member category and 1 under travel agency members. 34

42 4. Increase net revenue from special events In the reporting period we have undertaken two major special events Caribbean Week in New York from which we netted $37,600, and Caribbean Week in Toronto which had a net income of $7,000. The bulk of the $200,000 target was anticipated revenue from the OneCaribbean Vacation Travel Show, now scheduled for Results Up-to-Date: Our total net income to date is $89, Secure $50,000 funding for the CTO Foundation No major effort has yet taken place to raise funds for the CTO Foundation, although there is a plan to host an event in the fall of Results Up-to-Date: We have secured approximately $40,000 for the Foundation through traditional supporters and other activities including two Auctions during Caribbean Week in New York. 6. Increase members visibility in the marketplace We identified the major trade and consumer events in key source markets, negotiated with them for preferential placement and pricing on behalf of members, after having analyzed their value to the region. As a result, we participated in World Travel Market Latin America (April 24-26), with 4 governments sharing the CTO stand and another 12 governments in the Caribbean section. We also participated in ABAV-ITB (September 4-8). Shows were held in São Paulo, Brazil and had over 25,000 trade and consumer attendees at each. 35

43 Results Up-to-Date: Exposure to about 35,000 professionals and 15,000 consumers at travel & consumer events. We have also engaged IATAN travel agents via webinars hosted on behalf of St. Kitts and Barbados, as well as a generic session on Women in Travel. We coordinated 2 presentations about the CTO to travel agents and 2 presentations hosted by Belize in San Diego and San Jose, with approximately 100 travel agents in attendance for the 4 presentations. Results Up-to-Date: Exposure of the Caribbean tourism product to over 300 travel agents Caribbean Week in New York is always an opportunity to showcase the uniqueness of the Caribbean. For 2013, the extent of the exposure for the Caribbean exceeded that of any previous year. The promotion and publicity included: 20,000 flyers about Caribbean Week (CW) activities distributed to consumers and trade who participated in Caribbean Week activities in previous years. Flyers also targeted neighborhoods within the NY area whose households have the appropriate demographics and disposable income to travel. 114 commercials on CBS 1010 Wins that reached 3,557,400 adults ages 18 and above. The targeted audience for this campaign included New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Radio Interview with Style Music TV reaching over 3 million homes in the US and UK. Caribbean Week featured on Good Day New York - Channel FOX 5: Nielsen Audience: 101,109 36

44 Caribbean Week featured on Pix Morning News Channel 11: Nielsen Audience: 81,503 A number of Press Releases were distributed, featuring, among others, Tamara Tunie as celebrity spokesperson for CW, Super Model, Georgie Badiel at the Caribbean Fashion Event, the Caribbean Week App and all the events of CW. Exposure on social media with our Facebook page reaching 1,354 fans. Campaign peaks show 2,475 people talking about CW between June 6 and June 7, with 105,208 unique individuals reached on June 7. Almost 50% of Caribbean Week fans are between 25 and 44 years of age, come from the US, feel proudto be/like Caribbean and speak/prefer English as their main language, but there is an emerging group of Latin-American fans led by Peru, Argentina and Colombia that speak/prefer Spanish as their main language. Most likes came from mobile devices (Facebook Mobile) showing the growing importance of mobile for any social and digital marketing effort. On June 5th the page received 202 likes and it has not experienced unlikes from fans as of today. On Twitter, our initiative included a mix of promotional eventsrelated content, attendees information support and conversations with socially proactive followers that reached almost 1.8 million users matching the selected audience criteria. June 7 was the day with most tweets sent (56 tweets) and overall interaction. Since the CW Twitter presence was launched, mentions from followers and other Twitter users have grown steadily. Most mentions were on June 5 (Caribbean Vacation Mart) and June 7 (Marketing Conference and Rum & Rhythm) during the events that attracted the most interest. Exposure (maximum number of times tweets from Caribbean Week NY were seen by Twitter users) reached two peaks pre-event on May 24 (444,633 impressions) and May 26 (413,342), reaching its highest on June 1 (459,108), the first day of Caribbean Week NY. 37

45 Celebrity Chefs program for the entire week featuring 9 chefs from 7 CTO member countries exposing our Caribbean cuisine to thousands of consumers visiting Bloomingdales Department Stores in New York and Connecticut. 48 travel agents attended the Travel Agent Educational Program, which featured a presentation on Water Sports. Media Marketplace in New York drew 126 members from 104 media houses. For Caribbean Week in Toronto, 85 travel agents attended the Travel Agent Educational Program, which featured a presentation on Caribbean Destination Weddings and Honeymoons. The Press Conference and Caribbean Media Marketplace drew 51 media; and 66 persons comprising Caribbean government representatives and private sector partners in Canada attended the first ever Caribbean networking Industry Luncheon in Toronto. Feedback from all participants indicated that the Caribbean received significant positive publicity in the important Canadian market as a result of these activities. 7. Maintain a highly motivated, productive team We have clearly defined our working and reporting procedures, assigned staff members with their new responsibilities and new titles for their positions, and have met more regularly to plan activities and discuss staff issues. We continue to encourage teamwork and an open door policy all of which are contributing to a more productive and motivated work force. 8. Other Services We continue to network with Diaspora Groups and Trade Associations to keep the region front of mind of their members and clients. The Caribbean Diaspora card program is in its final stages and will be launched in the next few months. 38

46 Through this program, members of the Caribbean Diaspora will be provided with special discounts for visiting the Caribbean and patronizing the hotels, attractions and other venues that are participants in the program. The Caribbean Association in Alabama and the Alabama University are considering a Sister Cities program with a Caribbean Destination, focused on Education. 39

47 MARKETING UK & EUROPE

48 CTO UK & EUROPE REPORT APRIL-AUGUST 2013 UK Outbound Travel Tourist arrivals from Europe to the Caribbean for 2013 are estimated at 1.5 million. Arrivals from the UK between January to May 2013 are 0.8% less than the same period last year. According to the Office of National Statistics, the estimated number of visits abroad by UK residents in June 2013 was 5.9 million, 2% lower than in June During the period April to June 2013, UK residents' visits abroad were up by 1% compared with the corresponding period a year earlier, and they spent 6% more on these visits. In the 12 months to June 2013 the number of visits abroad by UK residents remained broadly the same when compared with a year earlier, but expenditure on these visits grew by 3%. STATUS REPORT Sponsorship CTO UK & Europe receives sponsorship for various activities and trade and consumer shows. The total amount received so far for this year is 37, for European trade and consumer shows and 22, for UK based events. Total Satisfaction at CTO Leads Events Evaluation surveys are conducted to analyse membership participation; and measure or increase ROI at future shows. The results from this year s activities have shown excellent performance in terms of quality of visitors received at the Shows. No survey was conducted between April and August, as few travel trade events are held in this period. Increase UK Chapter Membership The UK Chapter membership currently stands at 89. Efforts are continuously made to recruit new companies in to the UK Chapter membership. The membership pack is currently being updated to be more compact and user-friendly. 40

49 Advisory Committees Regular meetings are being held with the advisory councils in France, Italy and Holland. The main purpose of the councils is to create an industry forum to highlight some of the challenges and opportunities faced in promoting the Caribbean tourism products. Plans are underway to set up an advisory council in Spain. Trade and Consumer Events The CTO has participated in a number of trade and consumer shows. Caribbean Roadshow, Utrecht, Holland, 9 April 2013 The Caribbean Roadshow for travel agents took place on the 9th of April 2013 in Havana Utrecht. Six members of CTO Chapter Holland participated: Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort, Caribbean Travel Network, KEIS & Caribbean, Jamaica Tourist Board, St. Maarten Tourism Bureau, GlobActive travel marketing (representing The Westin Resort on Aruba & St. Maarten and Belize). 10 travel agents attended the roadshow; and were welcomed with a cocktail, a salsa workshop followed by general presentations. In-house workshops have been held following this event; targeting agents that were unable to attend. European Roadshow Russia May 2013 At the end of May, The Caribbean Tourism Organization and 7 of its members visited Moscow and St. Petersburg, where Caribbean Roadshows were held. Participants were able to interact and network with the Russian Market, meeting with key tourism professionals and media in this market. These shows were well attended by close to 120 Russian trade partners, which included the Russian Press, Tour Operators and Travel Agents. The Caribbean exhibitors, which included 3 national tourist offices, 2 airlines and 2 hotel partners, were overwhelmed with interest in their destinations and products and many new business partnerships were formed. Tour Operator Lunch- 23 June 2013 An open forum and lunch was organised in central London for UK Chapter tour operators to review CTO activities and to discuss their Chapter Members in order to establish ways of working more closely together with the CTO. It was agreed that this should be an annual event and a Northern Tour Operator lunch is being organised for the fourth quarter. 41

50 CTO Caribbean Ball - 20 June 2013 Over 270 guests attended the annual Caribbean Ball at the Dorchester in June. Sponsors for the event this year included Virgin Holidays, Travel Weekly, TravelMole, Travel Weekly and Trinidad and Tobago. Special guests included the actor Rudolph Walker OBE and the radio presenter Angie Greaves. A sum of over 4,500 was raised on the night from the raffle and silent auction for the Caribbean Tourism Organization Scholarship fund. The event was featured in a one page pictorial in Travel Weekly Magazine. CTO Golf Day - 18 July teams (57 players) took part in the 9th annual CTO Golf Day in July at the stunning Mannings Heath Golf Club, Horsham, West Sussex. This year the event was in association with Selling Long Haul and the day was formatted so that there was tuition for beginners followed by a 9 hole game; and a 18 hole game for those not requiring tuition. The day closed with a BBQ where all players came together for competition prize giving and networking. The event was featured in a one page pictorial in Selling Long Haul Magazine. External Events & Activities ACE Cruise Convention, May 2013 The CTO for the first time participated at the ACE Cruise Convention in Southampton UK on the May. The programme entailed a Round the World Trade Fair with cruise companies, tour operators, destinations and travel agents; a Selling Cruise Conference, a Gala dinner; and cruise ships visits. The next convention is scheduled for the 19 th September in Liverpool. The CTO is a sponsor of both events. Online Activities UK Website Search Engine Optimisation activities commenced on Caribbean.co.uk in April. Activities included updating the meta tags and description, link building and optimisation of keywords to increase visits to the website. Opportunities for banner advertising on the UK consumers website is also now opened up for members at a nominal cost. Advertisers include Bahamas Flavour, Tropical Sky, Jewels Dunns River Resort, Jewels Runaway Bay Resort and Amaryllis Beach Resort. 42

51 Caribbean Travel Guru Online Training Programme This is a new initiative, to create a one-stop shop training portal for UK and Northern Ireland Travel Agents. This will be a fully interactive training site for all the travel trade, selling the Caribbean. It offers CTO members, the opportunity to create and promote their own programmes, for an affordable cost and reach out to agents, to increase their knowledge and in turn, increase holiday sales to the Caribbean. Members who have signed up so far includes: Grenada Board of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board, Saint Lucia Tourist Board, Nassau Paradise Island Tourist Board, AM Resorts Windjammer Landing, Oil Nut Bay, Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, True Blue Bay Boutique, Biras Creek and The Reefs Hotel & Club. E-Newsletters The bi-monthly Caribbean Training Programme e-newsletter is produced and circulated to 1060 UK agents, providing members a cost effective way to keep agents updated on their products and trade activities. Copies of the newsletters can also be found online on OneCaribbean.org/traveltrade. Quarterly newsletters are also produced and circulated to 7,900 travel trade and consumers in Italy; 6,100 travel trade in France, 5,350 subscribers in Germany and 15,230 trade and consumers in Holland. Social Media The CTO UK launched its brand new social media campaign, Love Caribbean, which integrates the key messages and goals of the CTO with new online platforms. The Love Caribbean channels will work alongside the CTO website and branding to engage those who already love the Caribbean and spread the word about what the destination has to offer to new audiences. The new channels include a twitter profile, Facebook page and blog. A Love Caribbean logo was also created to brand activities around the Love Caribbean concept. Online Competitions A 2-month online competition in co-operation with Sandals Resorts was hosted on the CTO German website. The competition received 1,686 entries of which 40% subscribed to the consumer e-newsletter. The competition prize was a travel voucher worth 2,

52 Public Relations and Media Activities PR and Social Media Crisis Seminar, 14 May 2013 The CTO hosted a crisis seminar together with the PR agency Four bgb to review current practices and to update the membership on the impact of social media on crisis communication. There was an opportunity for all attendees to review experiences and case studies in order to get the most out of the event. It was agreed that a further meeting be arranged to illustrate how different types of crises and disasters are handled within the Caribbean region and which agency/division specifically handles these and what the UK Media needs as way of communication and this workshop has been scheduled for the 19th of September. The event would include a presentation from Johnson JohnRose on crisis plans and agencies based in the Caribbean, best practice presentations and a short presentation/informal talk from a media spokesperson. Four bgb has approached several media figures to be involved. Meet the Media - 22 May CTO UK Chapter Members met with 42 UK media at 30 Pavilion Road in central London. As well as key and senior journalists from such publications as The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, The Guardian, National Geographic, House and Garden, Marie Claire, The Sunday Times, The Voice and key trade publications, invitations were also extended to Bloggers and a special hashtag was established for the event as a way of communicating pre and post event. Media Coverage Four BGB generated media coverage for the CTO with a total circulation of 344,998,058 and a total advertising equivalent value of 550,249. Social media campaign Four Communications social media director, Ruth Haffenden, spent a full day training CTO London office Staff in how to run the new CTO social channels, develop content plans and budget their time accordingly. This training will be followed up with a training session for CTO members. 44

53 Publications Guide to the Caribbean 2014 The Guide to the Caribbean 2014, is currently being produced, for release in September This annual publication is the CTO s main, general guide for distribution at all Caribbean related events. 50,000 Guides are produced and distributed throughout the year, to the trade and consumers. This publication is funded through advertising and will feature all of the member countries, niche activities and a directory of all the CTO UK Chapter Members and CTO Member Countries. Upcoming Events: Caribbean Month September Following the launch of the CTO UK s brand-new social media platforms Love Caribbean on Facebook, Twitter and Blog, which allow us to communicate more effectively with consumers and partners; a Love Caribbean Special Offers campaign will take place throughout Caribbean Month in September. The Special offers flyers would be circulated to over 8,500 travel agents and homeworkers as well as to over 50,000 UK consumers. These offers will feature on specially designed leaflets, which will be sent to agents, to display and promote in their shops as well as to their consumer databases. UK Chapter Networking Event 19 September 2013 As part of Caribbean Month a networking event has been scheduled for the UK Chapter members on the evening of the 19 September in central London. This will be an opportunity for all members to attend and to celebrate Caribbean Month with us and to network with other industry colleagues. Top Resa, France September 2013 Top Resa is the biggest trade show in France. In 2012, the Show received 28, 788 industry professionnals and nearly 1,000 journalists. The CTO will coordinate a Caribbean booth with members including Barbados, Jamaica and Antigua & Barbuda. 45

54 No Frills, Bergamo, Italy September 2013 No Frills Show will be held in Bergamo Italy on the 27 th 28 th September It is one of Italy s biggest B2B shows to target Italian Travel Agents. In 2012, the Show received a total of 8,200 visitors and 3,200 exhibitors. Exhibitors at this year s Show includes the CTO and Tour operators Il Tempo Ritrovato, Oltremare Caleidoscopio and America World Tour. National Wedding Show London September 2013 The CTO will participate at the National Wedding Show in London on September. The Wedding Show is the largest in the UK and receives an average of 18,000 visitors over the three day period. Members attending the London show includes AM Resorts, Anguilla Tourist Board, British Virgin Islands Tourist Board, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Grand Lucayan Hotel - Grand Bahama, Sandals Resorts, Trinidad & Tobago Tourist Office and Turks & Caicos Islands Tourist Board. The Bahamas Tourist Office, Saint Lucia Tourist Board and the St. Vincent Tourist Office will participate in the CTO brochure bank. Scottish Wedding Show Glasgow 5-6 October 2013 The CTO for the fourth year, will participate in the Scottish Wedding Show taking place in Glasgow from the 5 th 6 th October. The British Virgin Islands will join the CTO stand during the Show. The Bahamas Tourist Office, St.Vincent Tourist Office and Turks & Caicos Islands Tourist Board will join the CTO brochure bank. The show receives an average of 8,000 visitors over the 2 days. TTG Incontri, Rimini, Italy October 2013 TTG Incontri takes place on October 2013 in Rimini Italy. Participating in this fair in Rimini means being present and active in the Italian market and gives the opportunity to establish new trade and media contacts and reinforce the consolidated ones. The CTO will have a Caribbean Stand at this year s show and participants include Press Tours, Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board, and Guadeloupe Islands Tourist Board. Brochure bank opportunities are also available to members. 46

55 Online Marketing and Social Media Seminar 22 October 2013 Following the success of previous seminars, the CTO in association with LeadGenerators, a specialist online marketing agency, will once again offer members to attend a free one day seminar on online marketing and social media. The seminar is designed to help members develop stronger and more effective online and social media campaigns that will not only boost sales, but will help to achieve their online objectives with better strategies and within lower budgets. DIVE 2013 NEC, Birmingham The CTO will coordinate a Caribbean Village area at Dive 2013, taking place at the NEC, in Birmingham from October The Caribbean Dive Guide will be distributed from the CTO Stand and there will be promotional activities and a Caribbean band to attract visitors to the Caribbean area. The CTO will offer a stand share and brochure bank option, to its members, during this event. CTO Holland Media Workshop, 29 October 2013 The Caribbean Travel Writers Awards will be presented to trade and consumers print and online media. World Travel Market November 2013 The CTO will participate in WTM 2013 and Guadeloupe Islands Tourist Office will once again join the CTO stand. During this show, the CTO will offer many events for its members, including the CTO UK Industry Insights, giving a great update and insight into the UK Tourism Industry. A Meet & Reward the Media evening, on the first night of the show, rewarding key journalists for their award worthy articles; a Directors of Tourism meeting, updating members on the latest news from the key European Markets and; an Agent Training Day on the third day of the show, for which attending agents will be given key training on the participating members destinations and products, as well as an informal, networking lunch at a popular local Caribbean restaurant. The CTO also plans to launch their new online training programme Caribbean Travel Guru during the agent day. The CTO is currently sourcing sponsors to host the annual Caribbean Street Party, which takes place on the CTO stand and is attended by a great number of key tourism industry professionals. 47

56 International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), France December 2013 The CTO will coordinate a Caribbean Pavilion at ILTM At present, there are 4 Caribbean industry partners, who have chosen to join the CTO stand: Axis Euro Marketing, representing the Bucuti Beach Resort in Aruba; Bermuda Department of Tourism; Nassau Paradise Islands Tourist Board; and Turks & Caicos Islands Tourist Board. The exhibitors will interact and network with key international buyers to share their unique travel experiences and luxurious properties. 48

57 COMMUNICATIONS

58 REPORT OF THE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION JUNE 2013 TO SEPTEMBER 2013 The Communications Division s Mission: To successfully deliver communications services across our diverse membership in order to rebuild member confidence in the CTO. The Division s Measures of Success until the end of 2013 are the following: 1. Raise members satisfaction level with the CTO s communications 2. Improve members knowledge of the CTO 3. Increase demand for the CTO s crisis communications & media training services 4. Increase use of social media 5. Deliver inaugural Diaspora conference at least at break even Status report regarding the Measures of Success: 1. Raise members satisfaction level with the CTO s communications Execution of the communications plan continues. It includes, but not limited to, direct communication with members advising of opportunities to promote their destinations, as well as making available information and opportunities that might be beneficial to them. Since the last report, Guadeloupe has joined the list of member countries using CTO services to distribute press releases, resulting in wider coverage for the country. We would wish to encourage members to take advantage of this opportunity. We are also continuing to build our database of media and industry practitioners in languages other than English and we are in a position to offer this service as well. Since the last report we have added some two dozen names to our government members database. These are technical and support staff who, in addition to the ministers/commissioners, directors and permanent secretaries, now receive information from the CTO. In addition, we have expanded our non-government members database, including allied members, media and persons interested in Caribbean tourism, by about

59 The CTO television series, Destination Caribbean, is another avenue via which the CTO provides opportunities for member countries to tell their stories and promote themselves. The Trinidad & Tobago ministry of tourism was represented on the first programme aired during the reporting period, with experts from other CTO member countries joining the panel to ensure a highly professional and top quality programme. In addition, CTO government (and non-government) members, including ministers, commissioners and directors, were invited to follow the programme either on television or online, and to provide their input. 2. Improve members knowledge of the CTO A number of activities were undertaken to fulfill this measure during the reporting period. Among them was a television programme as part of the CTO Destination Caribbean series. That programme focussed on the important role that festivals play in Caribbean tourism. The programme was viewed in over 20 Caribbean countries, as well as the New York Tri-State area, on the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) s cable channel, Carib Vision. It is also available for viewing on the CTO YouTube channel. A second programme planned for September aired after the writing of this report. These programmes expose viewers to the CTO, its member countries and the relevant issues that impact Caribbean tourism. The CTO newsletter continues to be an important medium via which we bring the membership up to date with what the CTO does. Beginning September, the newsletter has an improved look and feel as we continue to improve both the appearance and the content. During the reporting period we also introduced a new feature, Meet in which we highlight a different member of the CTO staff in each issue in order to give the membership a clearer idea of the services we offer and the people with whom they can liaise directly if these members have specific questions or requests. The CTO provided virtually real-time updates on Caribbean Week in New York and Caribbean Week in Toronto to the membership and the general public through both traditional and social media. The information disseminated covered the activities of both the organization and members during both Weeks. 50

60 3. Increase demand for the CTO s crisis communications & Media training services During the reporting period, workshops were conducted in the British Virgin Islands (at the request of the BVI Tourist Board) and in New York and Toronto (for NTOs). The following is a comment from the BVI director of tourism, Ms. Sharon Flax- Mars: I must say that your crisis communication workshop has come in quite handy these past few months. With our ferry crisis as well as major challenges with LIAT, the team here has had to face the press as well as our guests to disseminate rather unpleasant news. They refer to your seminar time and time again. In addition, a presentation on crisis communications which was scheduled to take place at the Tourism Outlook Seminar in Jamaica was rescheduled due to the postponement of the seminar and, a presentation at a crisis management seminar in the UK, will be done by the communications specialist in mid-september after the production of this report. In the past, we conducted a series of workshops for journalists, the vast majority of whom had not been interested in, or covered, tourism. The last such workshop was conducted in Grenada in October However, our research has shown that a very large percentage of those we trained have developed interest in the sector and are helping spread our positive message. Seven of those who have done the course, conducted by the communications specialist, attended and covered the recent STC-14 in Trinidad & Tobago and about two dozen have requested accreditation to cover the State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) in Martinique. One of those who attended the Grenada course won a CTO award in June 2011 for an excellent piece on Grenada and another one of these graduates received a CTO award in June of this year for an exceptional piece on St. Eustatius. 51

61 4. Increase use of social media There was a marked increase in the use of social media by the CTO during the reporting period. A social media plan has been put in place for the State of the Industry Conference and Destination Caribbean and, at the time of writing, a plan was being put together for Caribbean Tourism Month. Facebook has been the main platform. During a three week period between late August and early September, the number of likes on the Destination Caribbean page increased by nearly 12 per cent. In August our Facebook page, Caribbean Tourism Organization, received over 3,400 likes, an increase of more than 100 over the previous month. Our posts-reach exceeded 1,400 users for the first time and user-engagement reached an all-time high of 13% from Facebook users who shared, liked, commented or simply clicked posts on our page. In the wake of a deliberate attempt by the communications division to increase traffic to the CTO Facebook page and Twitter account, the number of Facebook likes and Twitter followers also increased during the reporting period. 5. Deliver inaugural Diaspora conference at minimum break even This conference is still under consideration as we explore possible hosts. However, there are some exciting developments surrounding the Diaspora programme. At the time of writing we are close to signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Kharisma Luxe, a Canada-based company owned by members of the Caribbean Diaspora, to produce and manage the CTO Diaspora loyalty card programme, the Rediscover Home card. The card, which will offer special discounts at participating Caribbean businesses to members of the Diaspora, will soon be launched. A website ( on which the card will be sold, and which will feature participating businesses, will also be launched as part of the programme. 52

62 REGIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

63 REPORT OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT MAY TO AUGUST 2013 The HR Department s Mission is: To deliver exceptional tourism experiences by strengthening the human capital of our members and the CTO, in order to rebuild member confidence in the CTO. The Department s Measures of Success until the end of 2013 are the following: 1. Expand the Hospitality Assured programme from 7 countries to 12 countries new companies signed on to the Hospitality Assured programme tour guides subscribed to regional certification programme across targeted member countries persons working in tourism subscribed to foreign language training programmes in 7-10 pilot countries 5. $300k secured from donors and other financial aid institutions 6. Track 100% of CTO Foundation graduates to make decisions on future areas of support 7. A succession plan is in place for key CTO leadership positions 8. A regional spa/wellness committee is set up to work on regional priorities identified in the 3 year work plan 9. Mission status reviews are conducted once a month 10. Contributions to the core values of the organization are assessed in each individual s annual performance evaluation 11. Satisfaction levels for each workshop run by the department to reach an 85% or over rating of good or excellent Status report regarding the Measures of Success: 1. Expand the Hospitality Assured programme from 7 countries to 12 countries The new countries that have been brought on board the Hospitality Assured programme are Anguilla, Belize, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis. As a result, a one week workshop was held in St. Vincent from August 26 to 30, involving the training of new business advisors to support the training. A presentation was made to Saint Lucia s tourism stakeholders on March 14 but this country was not able to participate in the training of business advisors in August and will have to await another round of business advisory training or else use an overseas business advisor. 53

64 2. 25 new companies signed on to the Hospitality Assured programme For the year thus far seven (7) new companies have signed on to the programme. With the new countries coming on board it is anticipated that at least fifteen (15) new companies would have signed on to the programme by year end tour guides subscribed to regional certification programme across targeted member countries Tour guide training materials have been sent to all CTO member countries. From September 4-6 a train-the-trainer programme was conducted in Jamaica at the Cardiff Hotel & Spa, a training institution belonging to HEART/NTA. A total of seventeen (17) persons participated in the programme from the following countries: Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. It is anticipated that the tour guide training will be up and running in countries in the next six (6) months persons working in tourism subscribed to foreign language training programs in 7-10 pilot countries A project proposal was submitted to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Implementation Unit at the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana in mid-july. Discussions were then held with the EPA Unit and funding support is now being sought through CARICOM s donor partners that support language training, in particular Mexico. 720 persons are currently signed on to the Livemocha online language training programme being offered by the CTO to its members. 5. $300k secured from donors and other financial aid institutions US$40,300 was secured from the Caribbean Development Bank for the train-thetrainer programme for tour guides. A proposal for funding for language training has been submitted to the CARICOM Secretariat. 54

65 A proposal for updating the curriculum for the Associate Degree programme in tourism/hospitality, which is being used across the region, and updating the online Sustainable Tourism course, will be submitted in September to the Commonwealth of Learning out of Vancouver, Canada, which has already committed to funding this review and training exercise. 6. Track 100% of CTO Foundation graduates to make decisions on future areas of support To date approximately 41% of the graduates have been tracked down through the tracer study which was sent out last year and have responded to the questionnaire sent. Information is being compiled from the tracer study to inform the CTO Foundation. 7. A succession plan is in place for key CTO leadership positions There are a total of 7 senior management positions at the CTO. Two recent hires have been made with a view to ensuring that the persons hired can be given the exposure and provided with the experience to take on the work of the person he/she reports to, if and when necessary. This will continue to be replicated, where feasible, along with other strategies. 8. A regional spa/wellness committee is set up to work on regional priorities identified in the 3 year work plan A decision was made that the Caribbean Export Development Agency, working in collaboration with the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Association (C-SWA), will form sub-committees made up of relevant organizations to work on specific aspects of the Action Plan. The CTO will be expected to participate in a number of the subcommitees. As a follow up, the final document containing the Caribbean Spa & Wellness Regional Strategy and Action Plan will be sent to all CTO member countries, so that they can use the document to guide the development/enhancement of their own national strategy for spa and wellness tourism. 55

66 9. Mission status reviews are conducted once a month Each professional who has stated measures of success reviews progress related to his/her measures of success on a monthly basis, via a performance dashboard. Additionally, management and other senior staff in all three CTO offices get together three times per year, using the internet to connect, to review their department s progress regarding their measures of success and to problem solve and support each other. Two such meetings have already been held for the year and one of the meetings, held in August, involved management and senior staff members reviewing their work plans as well as engaging in planning for Contributions to the core values of the organization are assessed in each individual s annual performance evaluation The internal core values of the CTO were agreed to. They are as follows: Sustainability, Leadership, Empowerment, Respect and Membership Engagement. These values have been incorporated into each individual s performance appraisal form for assessment. 11. Satisfaction levels for each workshop run by the department to reach an 85% or over rating of good or excellent A one day Customer Service workshop was conducted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on March 27. There were twenty eight (28) participants from the tourism public and private sector in attendance. 96% of the participants gave the workshop a rating of good or excellent. In the Hospitality Assured training for business advisors in St. Vincent, the average rating of the programme was over 85%. The evaluation results of the tour guide train-the-trainer programme were not collated by the time of the writing of this report. 56

67 Other important initiatives to report on during this time period: An eighteen (18) hour training session was conducted for management and senior staff at the CTO headquarters in the area of Communication and Presentation Skills over a 5 week period between the months of April and May covering topics such as Voice Production, Diction and Vocal Expression; Word Usage; Handling the Interview on Radio and Television; Basics of Writing a Speech; How to Deliver a Speech etc. The Director of Regional Human Resource Development participated in Caribbean Week in New York during the period June 3-7. A meeting was held with Percival Marie, Executive Director, Resource Mobilization and Technical Assistance at the CARICOM Secretariat on June 27, at the CTO s headquarters. At this time the CTO made a presentation highlighting the needs of the organization in the various departments and Mr. Marie provided some frank feedback in terms of the CTO s ability to garner funding support. Visits were made to St. Kitts & Nevis and Anguilla on July 4 and 5 respectively to introduce the Hospitality Assured programme to tourism stakeholders in those countries. The CTO s Director, Regional Human Resource Development, is part of a Steering Committee for the CARICOM Education for Employment project, which is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. The project seeks to assist in the development of demand-driven training programmes leading to employment, with a focus on technical and vocational education. On July 15 the CTO headquarters hosted a sub-committee meeting focused on the collection of data to put into a labour market information portal. CTO s Deputy Director of Research, Ryan Skeete, made a presentation at the meeting and also participated in the discussions of that day as well as the Director, Regional Human Resource Development. The Secretary General and the Director, Regional Human Resource Development attended a meeting of the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana, on July 29, followed by a meeting with donor agencies on July 30 and 31. This was an opportunity to hear about CARICOM s initiatives and plans and also to share information with the donors and to listen to the priority areas of focus for the donors. A listing of all the donors and their areas of support was shared. The CTO has developed a matrix which will be shared with all countries in September. 57

68 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

69 REPORT OF THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEPARTMENT MAY TO AUGUST 2013 The ST Department s Mission: To champion sustainable tourism development in the Caribbean towards a viable, resilient and high quality tourism sector. The Department s Measures of Success until the end of 2013 are the following: 1. Successfully execute/implement projects that align to member needs. 2. Sustain Membership satisfaction to at least 65%. 3. Increase participation of CTO Members in sustainable tourism conferences and webinars by 20%. 4. Increase participation in CTO sustainable tourism awards to 50% of Member countries 5. Execute/participate in at least four workshops on key sustainable tourism issues. 6. Facilitate at least three Member countries in the process of measuring tourism sustainability towards obtaining destination level certification. Status report of the Sustainable Tourism Product Specialist (STPS) regarding the Measures of Success: 1. Successfully execute/implement projects that align to member needs CTO-UNEP Caribbean High Level Sustainable Tourism Symposium Project One key recommendation from the Symposium was the establishment of a regional sustainable tourism agency network. The CTO has been having ongoing discussions with the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Secretariat, the Organization of American States (OAS), Sustainable Travel International (STI) and The CARIBSAVE Partnership which will be founding partners in the network. This will facilitate a more integrated approach to sustainable tourism development in the region. A Sustainable Tourism Donors Forum is also envisaged. 58

70 Gastronomic Product Development and Promotion for Caribbean Destinations Developing the Tourism Industry Human Resources The regional strategy for developing food tourism was circulated to Members for feedback. Some funding has been obtained from the OAS for the second phase of this project. Additional funding is being sought to implement key recommendations of the Strategy including the establishment of a Caribbean Food Tourism Alliance and related national structures as well as the development of a more detailed Action Plan. Discussions with the OAS, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and other key agencies about the way forward are ongoing. Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency Action Advanced Program (CHENACT-AP) Ten hotel energy efficiency audits were completed for hotels in Jamaica. Ten audits are currently being conducted for hotels in The Bahamas based on the funding from the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE). Forty-three Expressions of Interest are being reviewed for short-listing of the firms to be invited to submit detailed proposals to provide consultancy services for the IDB-funded project activities. Voluntourism Framework Voluntourism is defined by voluntourism.org as the conscious, seamlessly integrated combination of voluntary service to a destination and the best, traditional elements of travel arts, culture, geography, history and recreation in that destination. A draft framework to guide the development of voluntourism in the Caribbean has been developed. A survey on voluntourism is currently being conducted, the findings of which will be used to refine the draft framework. Developing Experiential Tourism in the Caribbean A draft project concept note was developed and shared with both the Caribbean Development Bank and the Canadian High Commission in Barbados for funding consideration. The overall objective of this project is to craft and execute a made-inthe-caribbean experiential tourism strategy and program that is practical, implementable and delivers real results. Further refining of the Concept Note into a project proposal and funding discussions are ongoing. 59

71 14 th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development This conference was successfully convened from April 15-18, 2013 at The Hyatt Regency, Port-of Spain, Trinidad. The theme was Keeping the Right Balance: Enhancing Destination Sustainability through Products, Partnerships, Profitability. Expressions of interest are being sought from amongst CTO member countries to host STC-15 which is tentatively carded for April The hosting requirements will be shared with interested countries and follow-up discussions then held regarding the theme, programme and conference logistics. Although host countries for STC-15 and STC-16 were still being sought at the time of writing this report, preliminary research on possible topics to be covered is ongoing. 2. Sustain Membership satisfaction to at least 65%. This will be ascertained based on a CTO Member country survey to be conducted. 3. Increase participation of CTO Members in sustainable tourism conferences and webinars by 20%. a. The number of CTO Member countries participating in the annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC) was 12 for STC-13 (Guyana) in This number increased by 83% to 22 countries for STC-14 (Trinidad and Tobago) in b. Since January 2013, the following free webinars under the CTO-Sustainable Travel International Webinar Series have been executed and are available via i. Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Development ii. Education and Training Programs for Tourism Destinations and Businesses iii. Carbon Emissions and Offsets: An Evolving Opportunity c. The Baxter Travel Media Responsible Travel and Tourism Forum (RTTF) free webinar series will begin on 18 th September. RTTF offers travel professionals a place to learn about and discuss the social, environmental, and economic challenges affecting the travel and tourism industry today, while demonstrating how to implement best practices and improve sales. Upcoming webinars are as follows: 60

72 What You Need To Know About Certification Programs Fair to All Ensuring a Sustainable Future for Local People and Animals Gaining an Edge by Finding a Sustainable Niche Maximum Satisfaction: How Do Green Policies = Satisfied Clients? Manage the Risk: Travel and Security Access, Disability and Tourism The RTTF webinars can be accessed via the website: Past webinars have been attended by members of at least six CTO Member countries Jamaica, Belize, Barbados, Anguilla, Dominica and Puerto Rico. There is need for greater uptake of these free training opportunities and for topic suggestions for future webinars. 4. Increase participation in CTO sustainable tourism awards to 50% of Member countries Ten CTO Member countries participated in the 2013 edition of the CTO-TravelMole Sustainable Tourism Awards competition as compared to nine countries that participated in the 2012 edition. The CTO-TravelMole Sustainable Tourism Awards for 2014 will be launched in October The award categories will be as follows: Caribbean Excellence in Sustainable Tourism Award Destination Stewardship Award Sustainable Accommodation Award Community Benefit Award Heritage Protection Award Biodiversity Conservation Award Information from the applications is being used to develop sustainable tourism good practice case studies. 61

73 5. Execute/participate in at least four workshops on key sustainable tourism issues. Since January 2013, the following symposiums/workshops were executed: a) Caribbean Food Tourism Strategy Partner Regional Workshop - February 27 th, 2013, Barbados (and electronic) b) Partnership Strategies to Increase Profitability and Visitor Spend April 16, 2013, Trinidad c) Collaborating with Tour Operators to Promote Sustainable Tourism Products April, 16, 2013, Trinidad d) Global Marketing: Trends and Rules in Sustainability April 18, 2013, Trinidad e) Building Successful Sustainable Tourism Destination Networks April 18, 2013, Trinidad By invitation, the STPS participated in the following events since May 2013: The Centre for Responsible Travel (CREST) s Executive Symposium for Innovators in Coastal Tourism Development, May 2013, Mexico. (CTO is considering staging a one-day regional forum on Coastal Tourism in 2014) Singapore-Commonwealth 3rd Country Training Programme s course on Developing Viable and Sustainable Tourism Products: Lessons from Singapore, June 2013, Singapore. (Funding is currently being sought to execute sustainable tourism product development workshops during the timeframe.) Caribbean Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, July 2013, Jamaica. (CTO presented on key sustainable tourism issues, priorities and opportunities for Caribbean SIDS. This will feed into the regional position on issues to be discussed with respect to the new sustainable development agenda for SIDS at the Conference to be held in 2014 in Samoa.) 24th Meeting of the ACS Special Committee on Sustainable Tourism (SCST-24) and 2nd Preparatory Meeting of the 3rd Meeting of Ministers of Tourism of the Greater Caribbean (TMM-3), July, 2013, Trinidad and Tobago. (An update was provided on areas in which the CTO and the ACS are working collaboratively, including voluntourism, language training, sustainable destination management and air transportation.) 62

74 Annual Board Meeting of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), August 2013, Belize. Some key projects being executed by CCCC that directly link with the tourism sector include: o A two-year program led by Australia s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) to: develop a Regional Framework for addressing key challenges for the sustainability of coral reefs associated with Climate Change, and build regional capacity through development of a climate change adaptation toolkit for coral reef managers. o The development of a Caribbean Climate Risk Management Framework and an accompanying web-based tool to aid decision makers across the Caribbean. The project emerged out of the need to develop a risk ethic in the region towards development planning and investment projects and programmes. 6. Facilitate at least three Member countries in the process of measuring tourism sustainability towards obtaining destination level certification. The CTO is partnering with STI and the OAS on a project entitled Increasing Tourism Competitiveness through Sustainable Destination Management and Capacity Building in the Caribbean and Central America. The goal of the project is to contribute to increasing tourism destination competitiveness by fostering sustainable destination management and capacity building in the Caribbean and Central America. Its purpose is to enhance how tourism is managed at destination level in the Caribbean and Central America in order to achieve equilibrium of economic, social and environmental sustainability, increase competitiveness and ensure the long-term viability of tourism. Four destinations in Central America and the Caribbean will be the direct beneficiaries of this pilot project. Other important initiatives to report on: a. The next e-meeting of the CTO Sustainable Tourism Development Technical Committee (STTC) is tentatively scheduled for the week of 8 th September,

75 b. The STPS will be representing the CTO at a Women s Forum on Expanding Economic Opportunities for Women in Agriculture during the week of 6 th October in Guyana. This Forum is being jointly organized by IICA, the US State Department and the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Cooperation on Agriculture and Rural Development (CTA). The Forum s objective is to advance women s economic empowerment in the Caribbean and the Pacific Region. c. CTO-TravelMole Vision Expressed Sustainable Tourism Quarterly newsletter The Caribbean Tourism Organization and TravelMole s Vision Expressed is a Quarterly Newswire with a global circulation to 250,000 travel agents and tour operators. It highlights CTO member destinations sustainable tourism success stories, projects, community-based tourism and other initiatives and products (e.g. attractions, events, accommodation options) that are in keeping with sustainable tourism principles. CTO Members are encouraged to regularly submit articles for future newswires. d. Hosting of Interns During the July-August 2013 period, two graduate-level interns from the University of South Florida were hosted by the Sustainable Tourism Department of the CTO Secretariat. An undergraduate degree level intern from The College of The Bahamas was also hosted during the same period and a Master s degree level intern from UWI, Barbados is currently being hosted. 64

76 MEMBERSHIP SERVICES

77 Report of the Membership Services Department Membership Services Department s Mission: To deliver high quality services to a diverse membership in order to rebuild confidence in the CTO. The Department s 2013 Measures of Success: 1. Enhance member confidence in the CTO s services through specified measures 2. Increase members overall satisfaction level through enhanced engagement 3. Increase the collection of Dues and RMF 4. Retain 100% of members in good financial standing 5. Recruit new members Status report on Measures of Success Enhance member confidence in the CTO s services through specified measures There are several measures of confidence that could be applied to any individual or group of members in an organization, but it could be argued that relevance to the member will be one of them. In the 2012 audit of the Organization it was reported that many of the respondents questioned the relevance of the CTO to their current reality. They pointed to a disconnect between the work of the CTO and their specific needs. In an attempt to address this directly, during July 2013, the first annual Priorities Assessment Survey, aimed at gaining member feedback on the proposed programmes of the Secretariat for 2014, was conducted in July. Additionally, the Survey provided a structured forum for members to recommend programmes and initiatives that they would like to see included in the Work Plans. It allowed the CTO to actively engage members in the Work Planning process in a structured, measurable way. It will also assist the CTO s management team in rationalizing the allocation of resources next year. The response to the survey from member governments was very positive, with responses being returned from 21 of the 30 members (70%). The survey was disseminated to the Ministers, Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries and Directors of Tourism in all member countries. Multiple responses were received from many of the countries. 65

78 Unfortunately, the response to the non-government survey was not as encouraging, however. Less than 10% of these members responded to the survey. The major difference in the approach taken with the two surveys was the level of follow-up. There were not enough resources available to this project to facilitate the same level of follow-up to both groups. The results of the surveys were examined during a 2014 Planning Meeting in August. The responses were assessed by the CTO management team and then prioritized for inclusion in the 2014 Work Plans. Increase members overall satisfaction level through enhanced engagement The CTO has adopted a programme of one-on-one engagement with member countries through structured country visits which feature meetings with the senior government, and private sector, tourism professionals. The response to the request for a meeting has been very well received. The meetings are led by a senior CTO team, including the Chairman and Secretary General. The meetings provide an opportunity for the CTO to present its active programmes and initiatives to Members and articulate how they can capitalize on the benefits to be had from participation. The meetings also present a forum for the country s stakeholders to communicate their particular challenges and requirements. The feedback received is constantly being reviewed by the Secretariat, with a view to incorporating it into the activities undertaken. Visits were conducted in five (5) member countries since the June Board Meeting, and another three (3) are scheduled to be completed before the October Board Meeting. A schedule for the remainder of 2013 is being formalized. Increase the collection of Dues and RMF At the time of preparing this report, 60% of the total membership was eligible to vote, 23% had paid their Dues in full and 20% had paid Dues in part. This time in % were eligible to vote. The Secretariat, in particular the Finance team, is pursuing a systematic process to ensure that total collections increase over 2012, by the end of

79 Retain 100% of members in good financial standing The Organization s focus on member satisfaction is intended to reinforce the value of the CTO, and therefore reduce attrition. A programme of member retention aimed at increased satisfaction is currently being developed for implementation. The programme includes increased engagement through visits and establishing other opportunities for direct interaction, as well as trying to better align CTO programmes and initiatives with expressed needs. A recurring concern that has been expressed by several members, through various channels relates to access to services and differentiation of benefits. A proposal that focuses on managing member benefits and resource allocation against member contribution is being prepared for review and discussion. Recruit new members Two important exercises aimed at assessing the inherent value in CTO Membership were started in the quarter - a comprehensive review of the CTO member s benefits, for government and non-government members, and a review of the benefits similar to the CTO is also being conducted. Key to recruiting new members will be the ability to present a solid portfolio that shows what the Organization does and how it is best positioned to assist its membership in achieving its individual objectives. Though the focus has largely been on retention of existing government members, the Organization has had discussions with representatives for Suriname in Europe about rejoining, in addition, a formal request for a meeting with the government has been sent. This is currently being followed-up. Other smaller islands including Saba and St. Barth s have also been identified as islands that the Secretariat will actively pursue during Since June, eleven (11) new non-government members have joined the CTO. To assist in recruitment contact has been made with major organisations within the member countries, like the Chambers of Commerce, to establish a relationship with them and encourage joining the CTO. In addition, work has started on nongovernment recruitment collateral. The first piece, a brochure of benefits, is being finalized. 67

80 FINANCE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

81 REPORT OF THE FINANCE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT MAY 9 TO SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 The Finance Department s Mission: To strengthen the CTO s financial stability and sustainability in order to Rebuild Member Confidence in the CTO. The Department s Measures of Success The measures of success for 2013 are as follows: 1. The collection of 100% of membership dues by December % of our Members in good financial standing by year end. 3. To increase the number of Members contributing fully to the Regional Marketing Fund (RMF) from 8 to Reduce the total level of Membership and RMF arrears by 40%. 5. Increase the external funding from non-government Membership sources from $1million to $1.5 million. 6. Ensure CTO operations are successful within annual approved parameters. Status report 1. The collection of 100% of membership dues by December As of September 6, 2013, 38.4% of membership dues, both current (2013) and outstanding (pre- 2013) at the start of the year, had been collected. This translates to a collection of $2.76 million of which 51% is dues for This level of collection exceeds 2012 levels % of our Members in good financial standing by year end. As of September 6, 2013, eighteen of our thirty members (60%) were current with respect to the payment of membership dues. Three of the 12 non-financial members are at, or have exceeded, the threshold for revocation of their membership. We are currently negotiating payment plans with two of these three members. Additionally, we expect that the changes to our collection methods along with the ongoing country visits, will garner positive results in relation to the collection of outstanding dues. 68

82 3. To increase the number of Members contributing fully to the RMF from 8 to 20. As of September 6, 2013, three members had fully paid their RMF dues. At our June 2013 Board meeting, members voted to write off RMF arrears for 2011 and all previous years as an incentive for members to make contributions to RMF for 2012 and Since then we have noticed some success in collections, as members attempt to tackle the 2012 arrears and 2013 assessment. Members are utilizing the quarterly payments system implemented in 2013 and based on this, we expect the number of members fully paid up by December 1, 2013 to be higher than the current level and possibly exceed the 2012 level. The ongoing country visits are also expected to assist with the collection of RMF dues as members gain a better understanding of our regional marketing efforts. 4. Reduce the total level of Membership and RMF arrears by 40%. As of September 6, 2013, the level of membership dues in arrears had decreased by 34% via the collection of $1,359,151. Our improved collection efforts, the positive effect of the quarterly billing system and the ongoing country visits, are largely responsible for this reduction. Members have gained a better understanding of the organization and are utilizing the quarterly payment system which assists them with the management of their cash flow. As stated in the May 2013 report, the reduction of RMF arrears which has been achieved was due mainly to the adjustment of the 2012 RMF dues to the levels assessed in the new RMF formula for In addition to this, the write-off of RMF dues in arrears for 2011 and earlier years, approved in June 2013, will significantly adjust downward the arrears at December 31, As a result this measure of success will only be applied to Membership dues for Increase the external funding from non-government Membership sources from $1million to $1.5 million. Since our May 2013 report when the level of funding from external sources was just over $1million, a tranche of funds has been secured from the Caribbean Development Bank for use in the Human Resource Development department. This increases external funding to $1.1 million. 69

83 The CTO continues to interface with international donors in our attempts to secure funding for our programmatic work in the areas of Sustainable Tourism Development, Human Resource Development and Research. This has proven to be a difficult task and the CTO has embarked on a new strategy to tackle this matter, beginning in the latter part of Ensure CTO operations are successful within annual approved parameters. Our operations have continued to be within the parameters set by the approved budget for Although membership dues collections have exceeded the 2012 levels as stated above, the results of our fund-raising have not been so promising. This is due mainly to the difficult economic times and it has limited the scope of some of our activities so far this year. The available funding however has been put to good use through careful planning and cost control and resulted in successful events for The most recent events were Caribbean Week in New York and Toronto, in June In addition, the available funds have enabled the organization to continue to provide the level of service expected by our members while at the same time realigning our functions as suggested in the preliminary findings of the 2012 organizational audit. The use of the available RMF funds has similarly conformed to the approved budget for The limited collection of these funds, as mentioned before, has reduced the efforts of the CTO's marketing arms; the CTDC and the CTO UK office. However, the available resources have been used to meet our commitments for 2013 to date. We do expect some additional success in collections due to the ongoing country visits, but the dependence of the CTO marketing arms on this funding in 2013 and into 2014, will limit the success of the regional marketing efforts, unless collections are significantly increased. New Initiative In our May 2013 report, we noted that a project was in progress to streamline the CTO's accounting system so that although it remained centralized, this key function would remain fully operational during a natural disaster affecting either the Barbados or New York office. This deficiency in the existing system was highlighted in New York during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in October We are pleased to report that the project was completed during July as expected and all staff is now fully trained on the use of this revised system. 70

84 The second phase will be implemented to incorporate the UK office s accounting systems and bring the organization s full accounting system up to a more robust standard. No timelines have yet been identified for the implementation of this phase. But it will be implemented as soon as possible, once the technical logistics have been sorted out and funding is available to complete this project. Please also refer to the financial statements, which will be presented along with the proposed budget for

85 AFFILIATE AND ALLIED MEMBERS

86 FCCA CTO REPORT There is some good news coming out with regards to the ECA (Emission Control Area) of North America. The EPA has now entered into agreements with several cruise lines involving the incorporation of new scrubber technology which will allow ships to comply with the new requirements while using existing fuel types. We anticipate this process continuing as solutions are sought to meet compliance guidelines. There is modest reduction in expectations for the Caribbean. Despite ongoing discounting to fill ships in the Caribbean, the Caribbean forecast was only modestly impacted and demand remains solid. Europe continues to demonstrate year-over-year improvement, with net ticket yields expected to increase in the mid-single digits for the year. In aggregate, both pricing and booked load factors are higher for the second half of the year than at the same time last year. At this time, some lines are reporting cumulative advance bookings for the remainder of 2013 are behind the prior year at prices below the prior levels. Some of the reasons cited are: Negative publicity; Lack of continuing availability of attractive, convenient, and safe port destinations. Onboard revenues have benefitted from improved U.S. consumer spending and the new onboard revenue venues have added revitalization. Fuel costs are reported to be relatively unchanged (with a few lines reporting fuel prices decreased by about 9%). Fuel consumption has decreased by about 6% compared to the prior year. The fundamental business model of the cruise industry demonstrates our culture of leaving no stone unturned in order to add incremental value and enhance the cruise experience for our guest. ### 9/10/

87 REPORT FROM WORLD TRAVEL & TOURISM COUNCIL (WTTC) Mission of WTTC: To maximize the sustainable growth potential of the industry by informing governments and wider society, of the enormous economic and social benefit that Travel & Tourism brings to the world community. WTTC is pleased to report a bevy of activity and accomplishments in the first half of These range from the production of major research reports, the progress of our strategic priorities, to conducting a Global Summit. These have all served the Membership well and created extra benefits for expanding the overall Membership base to over 100 top CEO s representing an array of sectors comprising Travel & Tourism. MEMBERSHIP WTTC has welcomed the following new Members since April Global Members Mubarak Al Muhairi Chen Wancheng Zhigang Su Masaru Onishi Shinichiro Ito Alan Leibman Rosemarie Andolino Howard Eng Dr Temel Kotil Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority Chimelong Chimelong Japan Airlines (JAL) All Nippons Airways (ANA) Kerzner International Chicago Department of Aviation Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) Turkish Airlines Regional Members Gabrielle Burgio Dillip Rajakarier Robert Bailey Alpitour Minor International Abacus Industry Partners Elizabeth Buse Visa 73