Project launched to promote C’bean region as spa and wellness destination

IN AN effort to promote the Caribbean as a destination for health and wellness, the Development and Promotion of the Caribbean Health and Wellness Tourism Sector Project has been launched.

This is according to Valarie Pilgrim, Operations Officer at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), who delivered remarks at the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Launch at the Radisson Aquatica Resort last Wednesday.

“A key expected result of the health and wellness project is the improved positioning of the Caribbean as a health and wellness tourism destination. This project supports and is closely aligned to a number of national and regional objectives. These include the export diversification and increased inward investment; promoting Caribbean regional co-operation and increased competitiveness of private sector enterprises, particularly micro and small enterprises.”

She said that this is important because this sector has been identified as a key sector for economic growth, especially for women who are heavily involved in this industry.

“Health and wellness has been identified as one of the region’s growth sectors. The sector features a high percentage of women entrepreneurs and its products and services contribute directly to the health and well-being of its largely female client base. The project is therefore directly aligned to the Caribbean Development Bank’s strategic objectives, which include promoting broad-based economic growth and inclusive social development; fostering regional co-operation and integration and promoting gender equality.”

It is a part of the Regional Spa and Wellness Strategy which the CDB will fully support, she pledged.
“This regional Spa and Wellness Sector Strategy is intended to be a working document. We are committed to not just the development of the strategy but, more importantly, its implementation. The Bank therefore looks forward to the next steps, which will focus on implementation using the resources provided by the CartFund and mobilising additional resources to support the implementation process.”

She said that various stakeholder organisations have also lent their support to this initiative. These include the “Department for International Development for providing the resources for implementation; the many spa and wellness enterprises which provided invaluable inputs into the development of the strategy; the Caribbean Export Development Agency as the executing agency and the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Association (CSWA), the regional umbrella sector association which has worked arm in arm with Caribbean Export to obtain project funding and to implement this project”.

The respective spa and wellness associations in the various regional islands; the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ); the Caribbean Tourism Organisation; various tourism boards, Ministries of Tourism, standard bureaus and service coalitions in the various islands and the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus are some of the other organisations which have lent their support, she stated. (PT)