From Bevan Springer

Happy Labor Day!

Forward march, urges CHTA President

The Caribbean tourism recovery is on track, but hard work and collaboration will be needed to sustain momentum and to overcome obstacles on the horizon.

“Now is not the time to sit back and think that all will fall into place. While recovery so far has been considered robust, we are still digging ourselves out of two years of literally no income,” stated Nicola Madden-Greig, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) as she encouraged local tourism stakeholders attending the St. Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association’s (SLHTA) Annual General Meeting last month.

“We must not go back to past decisions that as soon as tourism starts to perform we decide to tax it,” warned Madden-Greig, who called for the widening and deepening of linkages, which will inevitably help governments to raise revenues based on growth.

“We must continue to use the level of collaboration that was forged in the fire of the pandemic to drive innovation, knowledge sharing and diversification into new markets. We must use technology and develop our Caribbean talent to meet the needs of the new breed of traveler while maintaining the charm and authenticity for which the Caribbean is known.”

The meeting addressed the theme “Building Forward Better … TOGETHER”.

Bonaire celebrates Tourism Month

Bonaire is celebrating its bread-and-butter tourism industry in September with a range of activities, including recognizing World Tourism Day (Sep. 27), the theme of which is “Rethinking Tourism”. 

Upcoming activities include the September 22 launch of ‘Turismo na Boneiru, Mi Kultura, Mi Enkanto!’, a tourism book authored by Denise de Jong-Rekwest to be available in schools as a teaching tool about the industry and the island’s local heritage and culture. 

On September 26, the Tourism Corporation of Bonaire (TCB) will host its second annual Bonaire Tourism Summit to discuss branding, air service, and marketing and public relations plans with tourism stakeholders and partners. 

The event will feature Miles Mercera, CEO of TCB, as well as other international experts.

Tourism Month activities culminate on September 30 with the TCB’s Taste of Bonaire event. 

President of Windstar Cruises to join FCCA webinar

The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association’s (FCCA) educational cruise conversations continue this week with Christopher Prelog, President of Windstar Cruises joining FCCA president Adam Ceserano for the latest in the new series of webinars.

Aimed at strengthening the bonds between cruise industry executives and industry stakeholders, the webinar will take place on Thursday, September 7 at 11 a.m. ET. 

Prelog will introduce the Windstar sailing experience and discuss why the line recently became an FCCA member.

To register, click here.

Digital Digest

Digitally essential

Our digitally interconnected world gives marketing professionals a unique opportunity to reach more people than ever before. 

The digital audience is global, and it exists anywhere the binary network reaches, meaning we can tell our brand stories to people around the world, engaging across borders, languages and cultural barriers in ways we could never do with traditional channels.

Nothing has highlighted the benefits of the digital community more sharply than the COVID-19 pandemic. While the world severed many ties during that time, digital kept connections warm and strong. It enabled businesses, pushed important updates and communication regarding COVID, kept people connected and, most important, created hope. COVID-born businesses, brands, influencers and platforms are still doing well in this recovery phase. 

Digital is the way forward.

Medical Moment

World Patient Safety Day 2022

World Patient Safety Day, set for September 17, was established in 2019 by the 72nd World Health Assembly to increase public awareness and engagement, enhance global understanding, and work towards global solidarity to enhance patient safety and reduce patient harm.

This year’s theme is Medication Safety. Medication harm accounts for 50 percent of the overall preventable harm in medical care, and US$42 billion of global total health expenditure worldwide can be avoided if medication errors are prevented.

The objectives of World Patient Safety Day 2022 are to:

• Raise global awareness of the high burden of medication-related harm due to medication errors and unsafe practices, and advocate urgent action to improve medication safety.
• Engage key stakeholders and partners in the efforts to prevent medication errors and reduce medication-related harm.
• Empower patients and families to be actively involved in the safe use of medication.
• Scale up implementation of the WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm.

This year, the World Head Organization (WHO) is hosting a series of webinars on medication safety and producing a number of medication safety solutions and technical products.

MPE Caribbean Report

In this week’s MPE Caribbean Report, we learn about the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism’s plan to share more stories of its history and culture with diverse markets.

In this week’s MPE Caribbean Report, we learn about the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism’s plan to share more stories of its history and culture with diverse markets.

For video click HERE

Marketplace Excellence Corporation (MPE) is a global public relations, marketing and media company.