CTO prepares for State of the Industry conference

THE Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) holds its State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC 2013) in Martinique October 15-18.

The conference has as its theme, “Perfecting the Experience. Delivering Authenticity”, reflecting the seriousness with which the CTO views total customer satisfaction, said Hugh Riley, the organisation’s Secretary General.

To this end, the CTO has launched a Total Visitor Satisfaction (TVS) programme to measure and rate the quality of the experience that member countries offer to visitors.

Riley pointed out that, “It is the quality of the experience that will determine if our guests develop such an emotional attachment that they become influencers and repeat visitors. The whole Caribbean will enhance its competitive advantage by providing unique and memorable experiences to our visitors.”

At the conference, the former Secretary-General of the CTO, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, will lead a panel which will discuss the delivery of total customer satisfaction as a means of ensuring that visitors to the Caribbean get their money’s worth.

In his presentation, Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace will focus on harnessing visitor satisfaction through service delivery. He will illustrate how to anticipate, manage and exceed visitor’s expectations at every level of the tourism industry, using those principles to shape memorable experiences for visitors, therefore, influencing them to spread positive messages about the Caribbean.

“It is so much easier today and getting easier every day to share one’s impression of a destination, hotel or other travel experiences via social media. These ubiquitous digital impressions are so powerful that they have been described as permanently archived word of mouth,” said Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace.

The State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) is the Caribbean’s leading tourism conference, bringing together decision-makers from the public and private sectors, academics, travel professionals and journalists from the region and around the world.

At this year’s event, delegates will explore a range of elements that are critical to the development and success of the sector in the region. (TL)