CTO chief: Funding for crisis
marketing needed in Caribbean
By Tangerine Clarke
Hugh Riley, secretary general
and chief executive officer
of the Caribbean Tourism
Organization (CTO) in an exclusive
interview with Caribbean
Life recently, commended the
CTO Manhattan workforce for
doing a superb job of planning
programs, such as the June 1-8
Caribbean Week in New York,
of which he plays a supporting
role.
Riley, who overseas the CTO
offices in Barbados, North
America, UK and Europe, spoke
passionately about protecting
the Caribbean brand after a natural
disaster.
He said heaven forbid anything
happens in member countries
anytime soon, the CTO
would have to repair the image of
the destination, though effective
messaging, noting that a natural
disaster is an image disaster.
The CTO is working with private
sector partners to have a
marketing fund so that whenever
disaster strikes “we are able
to market the Caribbean brand
effectively, so people know what
is happening.”
“You can’t leave it up to the
public to understand, which
parts of the Caribbean had been
affected, and those that were
not affected, and what level of
recovery is taking place,” adding
that tourists should not
have to guess, which countries
were affected, whether Barbados,
Bahamas, Bermuda or
Barbuda.
“There is a need to use funding
and other marketing mechanisms
to ensure people understand
what has happened when
a natural disaster has occurred,”
he said.
During the 2017 hurricane
season, countries that were
directly hit by Hurricanes Irma
and Maria, suffered damage, but
many of the countries that were
not hit also suffered damages
because tourists felt that the
entire Caribbean was affected
and stayed away.
This would continue to affect
the Caribbean unless “we have
a proper funding mechanism
to repair the damage to our
brand.”
Caribbean L 18 ife, April 12–18, 2019 BQ
“It takes money to get that
messaging out,” he asserted.
In one instance, the CTO
partnered with the Caribbean
Hotel and Tourism Association
to launch The Rhythm Never
Stops — a marketing campaign
to lure tourists back to the Caribbean
region, because according
to Riley, the Caribbean never
stops.
The campaign was instrumental
in repairing some of
the damage done to the Caribbean,
but when funding ran
out, the campaign ended, said
Riley, who contended that the
region should be ready when a
crisis hits.
This could be done though a
sustainable funding mechanism
to market the Caribbean brand,
a proposal that the CTO has
been at the forefront, working
towards.
Riley, who leads the CTO’S
initiatives to strengthen the
Caribbean brand worldwide,
indicated that the CTO has a
strategic plan that goes from
2018 to 2022, which member
countries have agreed to follow
FAS H ION S POT L IGHT
Caribbean Tourism Organization Secretary General Hugh
Riley. Caribbean Tourism Organization
towards 2022 with a vision to
position the Caribbean as the
most desirable all-year round
warm weather destination.
CTO’s annual February
report indicates a strong growth
since the 2017 hurricanes devastated
parts of the region, that
received 29.9 million tourist visits
in 2018, the second highest
on record, surpassed only by the
30.6 million who visited in 2017.
Riley said the CTO does not
take full responsibility for these
numbers, “we report the numbers,
but we work together with
our member countries and partners
in the industry to carry out
the mandate of the CTO. This is
a concerted regional effort, not
just a CTO secretariat effort,”
he noted.
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