Market the C’bean experience

THE harsh aspects of the Caribbean experience must be honestly and frankly told.

This came out of the recently concluded Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) State of the Industry Conference by Lennox Honychurch, in his presentation to regional tourism officials on “The Truth about Product Differentiation”.

“Plantation houses, like the forts, are important parts of our product and it is best to be completely open about how things were and how this influences the present. There have been some very successful adaptations of plantation houses as productive visitor sites. These combine rum production with wedding and event destinations, as well as general visitor receptions. Places such as St. Nicholas Abbey in Barbados and L’Habitation Clement in Martinique come to mind. And it is not all about sugar production,” he highlighted.

Honychurch told participants that visitors to attractions like Disney World know that they are participating in “make belief”.

“It’s a vast dream world of plastic computerised pirates and of mock European cities and adventures planted in a swamp in Florida. The unreal magic of this man-made mirage is part of its attraction,” he pointed out.

He, therefore, noted the region’s ability to increasingly market themselves as the “genuine article”.

“We have sites related to the real pirates of the Caribbean, real rainforests, real coral reefs and real people taking part in traditional cultures of the islands that have evolved over centuries with the coming together of a variety of ethnic groups. All of this and the story which goes with it comes together to form what we market as ‘the Caribbean experience’.”

“The scenic backdrop to the tourists visit; the historic sites, the rain forest adventures, the underwater coral gardens, the floor shows displaying so-called ‘cultural dances’. These are the Caribbean tourist experiences that our clients have been encouraged to visit,” Honychurch indicated.

“We have enticed them here with our marketing material, in print, film and cyberspace. We have paid advertising agents millions of dollars to conjure up tempting images and descriptions of the experiences awaiting them. Nature, history, health, wellness and indeed, authenticity, are all part of the language used to get our clients to pull out their plastic and pay to go to your destination.” (TL)