Greater Georgetown, Guyana – The development of sports into a thriving tourism product will be rationalised when experts in the field of tourism, culture, foreign relations and sports meet in Bridgetown, Barbados from December 14 – 15, 2009.
They will gather to explore and exchange ideas in a high profile Regional Consultation on the Development of the Sports Tourism Sector with Emphasis on Valued Added for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME). The consultation has been organized with financial assistance from the Government of Spain.
Deputy Programme Manager, Sports Development, Directorate of Human and Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat, Mr. John Campbell stated that the consultation has been scheduled as the time had come to build on the existing resources within the Region for the growth of sports tourism.
He opined that the hosting of the Cricket World Cup of 2007 saw massive infrastructure development, evident in the emergence of several new and improved stadia and other sports facilities around the Region, which some feared would become “white elephants.”
In addition to structural enhancements, Mr. Campbell said that the 2007 Cricket World-Cup had boosted the Region’s tourism and hospitality capacity.
“Time is now right for us to see how we can utilise the existing resources for the development of sports into a viable tourism product for economic growth and development in CARICOM,” he stated.
The consultation has been planned with the recognition that tourism remains the single largest employer of human resource in the Community, responsible for an estimated 31.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product and providing nearly three million jobs.
Against the recognition too that the industry faced several challenges as a result of the global recession and from competing markets, there was the acknowledgment that focus must be placed on the improvement and diversification of the regional tourism product, in order to retain a competitive edge and create inroads into already established markets. Mr. Campbell said he anticipated that the consultation would create a nexus among existing policies, purpose and action, towards the positive outcome of a competitive sports tourism product.
The gathering will include representatives of the University of the West Indies, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees, business organisations and the CARICOM Secretariat.
They will seek to, among other things, rationalise the current status and practice of sports tourism in the Region, weighting that against international best practices. The consultation will also see presentations and discussion on issues including the Strengthening of Sports Tourism; Marketing and Packaging the Regional Sports Tourism Products; the Significance and Impact of Sports Tourism on National Economies; and the Critical Significance of Sports Tourism on the Competitiveness and Sustainability of SMEs in the Caribbean.
“We anticipate that the deliberations will bring to the table all the critical elements necessary to establish sound and practicable strategies and options for the strengthening and development of a vibrant Sports Tourism Product across the Region,” Mr. Campbell stated.
