Analyst identifies four Caribbean tourism hot spots CTO to help U.S.


HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC
- A leading international
corporate finance company
has identified four Caribbean
states as being in the forefront
of tourism development activi-
ty and the focus of investor
financing among the interna-
tional banking community.
 Simon Townend, partner
at KPMG Corporate Finance,
told the 10th Caribbean Hotel
and Tourism Investment
Conference last month that
while several Caribbean coun-
tries were doing well, St.
Lucia, Barbados, the Turks
and Caicos and The Bahamas
were the hot spots.
 "This we think is a success
story of the private sector and
governments working closely
together ensuring that the cor-
rect infrastructure is in place,
and that the destination is
marketed and finding the right
investors who are committed
to the long term have deep
pockets and can make things
happen," the KPMG official
said.

ATTRACTIVE
 He said in the case of The
Bahamas, there were three
billion dollar projects under-
way in the south, one involv-
ing golfer Tiger Woods, so it
was a very attractive location
for investment at this time.
 "It's something of a mar-
keting engine, with as many as


Golfer Tiger Woods is reportedly involved
in a Caribbean tourism project.
five million tourists going into
The Bahamas each year," he
said.
 Townend said St. Lucia
was always a very strong prod-
uct which attracted the high-
end traveller and tended to be
well marketed and there was a
lot of construction activity
taking place on the island,
while the Turks and Caicos,
and Grace Bay Beach in
particular, was developing
quickly.
 "The development there
is huge and prices are sky-
rocketing, there is a lot hap-
pening there so it is all very
positive," he said.
 He said with the 2007
Cricket World Cup coming


St. Kitts prepares for


visitor influx 2007-8


BASSETERRE, St. Kitts,
CMC St. Kitts and Nevis
is bracing for an influx of
visitors over the next two ....
years as a result of
increased visits by the
Royal Caribbean and
Celebrity cruise lines,
according to junior Tourism Empress of the Seas
Minister Richard Skerritt.
 He said Royal Caribbean He sa
and Celebrity Cruise Lines that all of
(RCI) have confirmed that stakeholdc
they will be significantly advantage
increasing the number of calls lenge to ii
and the size of their ships to of "our de
the federation starting in Oct. and service
2007. such signify


 Skerritt last month held
talks with executives of RCI
in Miami, Florida and said the
increase in visitor arrivals
would be felt by the local
cruise sector in the ;21 I 2F' is
season, when five RCI ships
will be deployed to St. Kitts.
He said the five ships carry a
total of 11,478 passengers.
He said as a result of RCI
rescheduling their calls, the
ships would make an estimat-
ed 45 calls here, bringing
more than 103,000 passengers
to the island.


-" U


id he is confident
the local tourism
ers would take
of the new chal-
nprove the quality
destination's products
es while undergoing
ficant growth."


 In the 2005/06 cruise sea-
son, which ended last month,
St. Kitts had a total of 28 calls
from the RCI's "Empress of
the SL,, and the Celebrity
Cruises "Constellation". For
the upcoming 2006/2007 sea-
son, which begins in October,
RCI/Celebrity will again have
28 calls to St. Kitts, but in
addition to the "Empress" and
the "Constellation", a third
ship, Celebrity Cruises'
"Galaxy" will be deployed
to St. Kitts.
0


up, there were a lot of
new projects underway in
Barbados, and while the event
provided only a short window,
and there were concerns going
forward as to how this addi-
tional capacity would be used,
the fact was the event has
brought in huge investment
for a year or two.
 "The event will surely
bring in hundreds of visitors
during the few weeks who will
come back and by word of
mouth encourage others to
visit," he said.
 The KPMG Partner said
CWC provided a lot of posi-
tive benefits which would put
each of the host countries on
the map and as a world event,
people will now start thinking
about Barbados and stop con-
fusing it with The Bahamas or
Bermuda. He said while the
short term windfall was great,
it was important how the
investments were managed in
the long term to ensure that
what was being built up now,
would not end up empty in
the years ahead.




 Tourism officials

 seeking change

 to marriage laws

ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada
(CMC) The Grenada Board
of Tourism (GBT) is lobbying
for the marriage laws of the
country to be changed to
meet the growing demand
from cruise ship passengers
who want to get married here.
 Newly appointed GBT
Chairperson Nikoyan Roberts
said Grenada is losing out on
business opportunities since
there have been requests from
couples about tying the matri-
monial knots on the island.
 "There are other islands
that have done their research
and gone ahead and changed
the legislation to make it easi-
er for their different niches to
maximize these economic
returns," Roberts said.
 "One of our niches is
wedding and honeymoons
and we're not making it avail-
able for more people to come,
get married and drive busi-
ness."
 A visiting couple wishing
to marry in Grenada needs
to spend at three days on the
island before taking the mar-
riage vow. But the Grenadian
official is hoping that the
Marriage Act could be
changed to provide marriage
for less than one day.
0


citizens get passports


NEW YORK, CMC The
Barbados-based Caribbean
Tourism Organization (CTO)
says it has reached an
agreement with
the United
States Postal
Service (USPS)
to facilitate appli-
cation for U.S.
passports at CTO-
organized events.
 "CTO has
taken this necessary
leadership role in
approaching the
USPS to establish a
partnership to ensure
that the passport
application process is
quick and convenient
for prospective Caribbean
vacationers who will need
documentation to return
home starting in January
2007", CTO said in a state-
ment late last month.
 It said the partnership
would help "address the new
U.S. requirement under the
Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative for all travellers
entering or re-entering the
United States starting
December 31, 2006 to be in
possession of a valid pass-
port".

CRUCIAL
 Caribbean governments
have said the new require-
ment could adversely affect


the tourism industry in the
region.
 "We see this
 partnership as a cru-
 cial ingredient in our
 nationwide efforts
 to inform con-
 sumers about the
 In ed to get pass-
 po)rts before the
 I )ecember 31,
 2006 deadline set
 by the U.S. gov-
 ernment," said
 Hugh Riley,
 CTO's director
 of marketing
 for the
 Americas.
 "We support the U.S.
Postal Service efforts and
appreciate all that they plan to
do to help inform and sign up
citizens for U.S. passports.
With the deadline fast
approaching, we don't want to
jeopardize the peak vacation
season next winter when vaca-
tioners will not be allowed to
re-enter the U.S. without a
valid passport."
 CTO said that the USPS
had been actively promoting
its passport services around
the country and would have
application forms and a cam-
era at the Caribbean Fair on
June 13, where U.S. citizens
can apply for a U.S. passport
without difficulty.
0


I -



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