Brand Caribbean – How well is it known in emerging markets?

HOW ready is the Caribbean to attract and welcome tourists from emerging markets such as China, Russia and Brazil?

Paul Cohen, Vice President of Optriant, a travel and hospitality industry consultancy, says that the region cannot attack these markets with one toe in the water. Success will be determined by our ability to project a solid Caribbean brand in these markets, whilst taking with us a well-researched and integrated plan involving all stakeholders, from Tourism boards to taxi-drivers.

Cohen was one of the featured speakers at the recently concluded Caribbean Tourism Organisation State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC 2013), which took place in Martinique.

Painting the Caribbean as a desirable location for emerging markets, he said a lack of destination awareness in booming outbound markets, if not addressed soon, would hurt us badly as the global tourism market continued to diversify.

The travel and tourism expert focused on several practical areas we could address to show our readiness. Focusing on China, Russia and Brazil, he suggested that countries work on having hotels and attractions with personnel who spoke the language of the inbound guests, that they ensured high-end shopping experiences to meet the tastes of these travellers, and that they boosted their Public Relations efforts to raise awareness.

In fact, Cohen noted that the Caribbean brand was not strong in China, a thunderous nation expected to be the number 1 inbound market to the USA by 2018.

“Right now, when any of these emerging markets look, if they are going to travel, they know what to expect within Asia, within Europe, they know USA, but their awareness level within the Caribbean isn’t there right now,” Cohen stated.

Contrary to those who have said that it would be difficult to attract the Chinese market, as what the region had to offer could be found easily in Asia and other closer territories, Cohen said that with a Chinese middle-class larger than the population of the USA, and with increasing wealth and the appreciation of China’s currency, Chinese outbound tourists were now more open to travelling to far flung destinations in search of something different to explore. And when they did so, Cohen remarked, they were looking for high quality – 4 and 5 star accommodation, luxury shopping and off the beaten track experiences.

Besides ensuring that there were persons on the ground who were fluent on Mandarin, Cohen also pointed out that Chinese guests had several expectations, which included being served “Congee” for breakfast (a traditional rice porridge) and having other amenities like Chinese teas (and tea pots), as well as toothbrushes. He added that it would help to have at least one television channel in Mandarin and that we needed to have in place payment facilities that accepted Chinese or credit cards from China Merchant Bank and China UnionPay.

The Optriant VP, who co-founded Partner Concepts LLC in 2002 and served as the Vice Chairman of the Corporate Council on Africa Tourism committee in 2008, stated that Brazil was naturally an “easier target market,” due to its geographical proximity.

He pointed to opportunities in the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) market, noting that with the growth of Fortune 500 companies in Brazil, the Caribbean was an ideal location for those which did business both in Latin and North America. (RA)