Grenada\u2019s Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell, is\u00a0 confident about the future of regional tourism despite current challenges facing the\u00a0 industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Dr. Mitchell, a featured speaker in a regional high-level discussion on Tuesday,\u00a0 acknowledged that the continued spike in COVID-19 cases in some countries, the\u00a0 emergence of new, more aggressive variants and closure of borders create a sense of\u00a0 uncertainty about the future of tourism.<\/p>\n
However, he said, \u201cNotwithstanding the challenges, we continue to be optimistic that the\u00a0 tourism industry will rebound and recover. Our expectations in that regard must be\u00a0 tempered by an unwavering commitment to give priority consideration to the safety of our\u00a0 people. Placing safety at the pinnacle of our efforts to restart tourism will serve as an\u00a0 attraction in and of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Mitchell further stated that, \u201cA country that demonstrates good COVID-19\u00a0 management protocols, along with easy and efficient entry protocols will no doubt be\u00a0 included on the list of preferred destinations. In fact, Grenada has already been identified\u00a0 on a list of six countries that potential travellers should have on their radar to visit, once\u00a0 they have been vaccinated.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Grenadian leader is disappointed that no Caribbean country was included on the UK\u00a0 Green List, which identifies countries from where travellers will not be required to\u00a0 quarantine when entering the UK.<\/p>\n
According to the Prime Minister, this calls for immediate action. He said, \u201cThis drives home the urgency for Grenada and other Caribbean countries to come together to lobby\u00a0 the UK for green light status, based on our relatively low case numbers and astute\u00a0 management of the pandemic. This will create a tremendous opportunity to increase the\u00a0 Caribbean\u2019s global market share as many popular destinations in places such Italy,\u00a0 China, Spain, South Africa will be closed out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reiterating his optimism about the future, Dr. Mitchell said, it\u2019s an opportune time for\u00a0 Grenada and its Caribbean neighbours to focus more on intra-regional travel. Noting that\u00a0 considerable resources are invested in attracting visitors from around the world, Dr.\u00a0 Mitchell said countries must now look into tapping the regional market.<\/p>\n
Elaborating on how to achieve this, Dr. Mitchell said, \u201cOne such initiative would be\u00a0 reducing the travel tax and making the cost of airline tickets more affordable. However,\u00a0 this must be a collaborative effort among the islands. If only one or two countries reduce\u00a0 the tax, it will not have the desired effect and what would essentially happen, is that those\u00a0 countries would lose revenue, while others continue to earn the same from the travel tax.\u00a0 We must work together on this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister believes this will also impact positively on the small, locally owned\u00a0 hotels, which are in many cases, the preferred option for regional travellers.<\/p>\n
Another recommendation from the Grenadian leader was the need to place greater\u00a0 emphasis on heritage tourism. He said, \u201cThe Caribbean has a rich heritage and there is\u00a0 significant potential for that history and culture to become a more visible part of the\u00a0 attraction of various destinations. Therefore, greater emphasis should be placed on\u00a0 developing and promoting these sites.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dominica\u2019s Prime Minister, Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit was also a panelist on\u00a0 Tuesday\u2019s high-level regional dialogue and he too, cited the need for collective action,\u00a0 such as joint marketing to help generate greater benefits from the tourism sector.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Skerrit also called for the region to develop a harmonised system that\u00a0 provides clear and standardised information to travellers.<\/p>\n
Like his Grenadian counterpart, he noted that while challenges exist, the pandemic has\u00a0 also created an opportunity to reshape and rethink the approach to tourism.<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s discussion on the future of tourism was organised by the United Nations\u00a0 Development Programme. It was the first of five Regional Policy Dialogues aimed at\u00a0 discussing the new trends in the tourism sector and the role of MSMEs within the sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Grenada\u2019s Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell, is\u00a0 confident about the future of regional tourism despite current challenges facing the\u00a0 industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 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