ANTIGUA & BARBUDA — Luxury and personalization are increasingly shaping the future of Caribbean tourism, according to David Shields, Vice President, Groups & Private Experiences at Island Routes. He says travelers are moving away from traditional shared excursions in favor of bespoke, immersive experiences tailored to their individual preferences.
Speaking with Breaking Travel News during the recent staging of Caribbean Travel Marketplace, Shields explained that while Island Routes has built a strong business around group experiences, the market is evolving rapidly toward customized travel offerings.
David Shields, Vice President, Groups & Private Experiences at Island Routes
“In doing that, persons do not want to be part of a group but are wanting to do it their way, the way they define it. They want to eat what they want so these elevated experiences provide the guest with the power to choose, the power to determine what they want to do in this amazing Caribbean and there’s a lot to do,” Shields said.
Beyond Traditional Tour Packages
According to the Island Routes executive, travelers are increasingly seeking experiences that go beyond traditional tour packages. Rather than participating in fixed itineraries, guests now want the flexibility to shape activities around their personal interests and tastes.
He pointed to culinary and cultural tourism as examples of this shift, noting that visitors may want to enjoy a fish meal prepared to their specific liking or participate in a more immersive chocolate experience that allows them to make their own chocolate or even plant cocoa.
“You don’t have to go on a tour and do it the way it is being promoted but can choose to do it a different way,” Shields emphasized.
The company’s approach, he explained, is rooted in creating highly personalized and memorable moments for travelers across the Caribbean region.
“At Island Routes, the guest experience is paramount and we will do everything to make it happen once it is legal,” Shields said.
Unique Offerings
Among the unique experiences now offered are chances for visitors in Jamaica to record their own track. It is inspired by reggae legend Bob Marley and done in a studio. Travelers to places like St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica can also explore legal cannabis experiences.
“Whatever you want to do and is your dream, we will make it happen if it’s legal and can be done within the Caribbean, we will package it and present it in a fun way,” he stressed.
Shields believes these elevated offerings are helping to redefine how the Caribbean is experienced by international travelers. In addition, these experiences showcase the region’s diversity in a more elegant and immersive manner.
Island Routes operates in nine destinations across the Northern and Eastern Caribbean. Jamaica serves as its operational hub. Island Routes is also placing more emphasis on strengthening tourism links across the region.
“Tourism doesn’t stand alone but tourism stands on a solid foundation of the beauty of our people, the beauty of our Caribbean,” Shields noted. “It stands on the foundation of a diverse geological structure, diverse geography, but the people of the Caribbean and what the Caribbean has to offer is that linkage to manufacturing…the economic impact, thereby creating real sustainable economic opportunity for our people.”
Shields also underscored the importance of sustainability, arguing that the concept must move beyond marketing rhetoric. Instead, it should focus on preserving quality of life while ensuring long-term continuity for Caribbean communities.
“Sustainability must not only be addressed from a marketing perspective but should seek to address continuity, ensuring that the quality of life is preserved as we do the right thing, the right way,” he said, adding that this approach ultimately strengthens the tourism product the Caribbean presents to the world.
Lyndon Taylor is the Founder and CEO of Lyndon Taylor & Associates, a boutique media and public relations consulting agency in New York City. With an illustrious career as an award-winning journalist and public relations consultant, he has been a contributor to various community and Diaspora publications.
