NEW JERSEY – Caribbean tourism marketers should include the powerful Hispanic-American community and the wider multicultural market segment when promoting the allure of the region to North American audiences.
Lisa Skriloff, a veteran multicultural marketing expert, and CBS News Associate Producer Ivette Davila-Richards of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), made the call in New York while preparing to address the 20th edition of the Caribbean Media Exchange slated for December 1 to 5, 2011 in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands (USVI).
Veteran multicultural marketing expert, Lisa Skriloff
The multicultural population, which includes African Americans, Caribbean-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians and Alaskan natives among other groups, currently represents a staggering 36 percent of the US population, and US $2.6 trillion in annual buying power.
“With the recent US Census indicating that the minority population will be the majority by 2042, addressing the interests and travel habits of ethnic and niche travelers is becoming increasingly important for the travel industry. That is why multicultural tourism is a key consideration for travel marketers,” said Lisa Skriloff, editor and publisher of Multicultural Travel News (www.multicultural.com).
Ivette Davila-Richards, a Puerto Rican native and NAHJ Director for the Northeast USA, concurred on the importance of multicultural promotion and looks forward to helping the USVI and the Caribbean leverage the US$71 billion dollars Hispanic Americans spend annually on travel.
“I am very excited to be able to participate in such a prestigious event in the United States Virgin Islands where I will share NAHJ’s message of advocacy and support for Hispanic journalists in the media. I also look forward to tweeting, facebooking and blogging about this event to the members of NAHJ and our partners,” said Davila-Richards, a former videographer for NY1 News/ NY1 Noticias.
An Associate Producer for CBS News Path (news gathering source) where she translates, writes scripts and edits reporter packages for outgoing national and international news, Davila-Richards, who also is an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), has arranged to make a generous contribution to the Family Resource Center during CMEx’s community outreach intervention in St. Thomas.
Since 2001, the Caribbean Media Exchange (CMEx) has produced 19 conferences and symposia throughout the Caribbean and North America to underscore the value of the region’s largest industry, tourism, in bettering the health, education, culture, environment and wealth of Caribbean communities, at home and abroad, in a climate friendly fashion.
The upcoming CMEx meeting, hosted by the United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, is supported by American Airlines, Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Barbados Tourism Authority, Barbara Pyle Foundation, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust, Caribbean Broadcasting Union, Caribbean Tourism Organization, Choice Hotels International, Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort, 4P Group, Marketplace Excellence, michaelD. Communications, Princess Juliana International Airport, Ruder Finn, Spirit Airlines, Sugar Bay Resort & Spa, Tourism Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago, and The SpeakEasy M.E.D.I.A. Foundation.
