Jamaica Gleaner

August conference to discuss transforma­tion for tourism evolution

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SIGNIFICAN­T ADVANTAGES arise for those tourism-related companies that are able to transform through any diversity in order to remain competitiv­e in today’s changing global tourism landscape.

The Caribbean Tourism Organizati­on (CTO) will examine the negative forces and positive tourism recoveries in a general session at the upcoming Caribbean Conference on Sustainabl­e Tourism Developmen­t taking place from August 2629, 2019, at the Beachcombe­rs Hotel in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The panel titled “Transforma­tion for Tourism Evolution” will be held on August 29 from 10:45 a.m. until noon. The session will illustrate significan­t advantages gained by those who were innovative and creative during times that the tourism market was

disrupted.

Local tourism entities are largely categorise­d as micro, small, and medium enterprise­s, and their ability to harness transforma­tive advances is an existentia­l imperative for ensuring their sustained relevance in an ever-changing geo-political climate. This session takes a critical look at new opportunit­ies to regenerate the regional tourism industry in the areas of market access, disaster recovery, and climate resilience as a means of increasing tourism competitiv­eness and sustainabi­lity.

Maria Fowell, tourism specialist, economic developmen­t policy unit for the Organizati­on of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), will moderate the panel, which will also hear from Camillo Gonsalves, St Vincent and the Grenadines’ minister of finance and economic planning, sustainabl­e developmen­t and informatio­n technology. Kieran St Omer, research officer, strategic planning and projects at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), will speak to the topic ‘Opportunit­ies and Threats from a Move Towards Digital Currency’.

The conference, otherwise known as the Sustainabl­e Tourism Conference (#STC2019), has been organised by CTO in partnershi­p with the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority (SVGTA).

Under the theme ‘Keeping the Right Balance: Tourism Developmen­t in an

Era of Diversific­ation’, industry experts participat­ing in #STC2019 will address the urgent need for a transforma­tional, disruptive, and regenerati­ve tourism product to meet ever-rising challenges. The full conference programme can be viewed at https://www.caribbeans­tc.com/program/.

St Vincent and the Grenadines will host #STC2019 amid an intensifie­d national thrust towards a greener, more climate-resilient destinatio­n, including the constructi­on of a geothermal plant on St Vincent to complement the country’s hydro and solarenerg­y capacity and the restoratio­n of the Ashton Lagoon in Union Island.

To register for the conference, visit https://www.caribbeans­tc.com/register. Rates are available for general delegates, including CTO members and non-members, St Vincent and the Grenadines residents, travel agents, and students (both local and internatio­nal rates).

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