MINUTES OF THE TOURISM SATELLITE ACCOUNT (TSA) MEETING

MAY 27th 2011

ATTENDANCE

COUNTRY / BAHAMAS / Kelsie Dorsett / Department of Statistics
Pamela Lowe / Ministry of Tourism
Leona Wilson / Department of Statistics
BARBADOS / Denise Haddock / Barbados Statistical Service
Sue-Ann Bishop / Barbados Tourism Authority
JAMAICA / Sonia Jackson / Statistical Institute of Jamaica
Antoinette Lyn / Jamaica Tourist Board
Carol Coy / Statistical Institute of Jamaica
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Carla Cupid / Tourism Development Company
Tamara Daniel / Tourism Development Company
REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Rodinald Soomer / Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
Winfield Griffith / Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
Sean Smith / Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
Sharon Coward / Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
Nekeisha Grant / Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)

AGENDA

  1. Review of the minutes for the Introductory TSA meeting.
  2. Assessment of the Terms of Reference for the Regional Coordinating Committee.
  3. Analysis of the proposed Budget.
  4. Other Business
  5. Date of next meeting

The meeting was called to order at 11 am by Mr. Winfield Griffith.

  1. Review of the Minutes for the Introductory TSA meeting

Clarification was requested as to which organization was responsible for making a formal proposal for funding OECS countries through the Caribbean Development Bank.

This concern was addressed by Mr. Griffith; he stated that CTO was responsible for making the proposal.

It was agreed that:-

All other matters in the minutes reflected what transpired in the first TSA meeting.

  1. Assessment of the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC)

There was considerable discussion about the membership and meetings outlined in the Project Administration section of the TOR document.

  1. Membership

It was a common belief that membership should have a cross representation. An assertion was made to include a representative from the following institutions; the United Nations Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), CARICOM Secretariat, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). A team of experts from the aforementioned institutions can only add value and comprehensive knowledge to the Committee.

However, there still remain some concerns about having too large a committee.

  1. Meetings

It was suggested in the Terms of Reference that the Committee schedule meetings once every month. However, there were some objections to this suggestion; it was considered to be too frequent. Recommendations were made to meet once every two months. A unified agreement was made that in the initial stages of the project the Committee ought to meet once monthly.

  1. Analysis of the proposed Budget

It was agreed that the Regional Coordinating Committee would be largely responsible for managing the budget.

Discussion took place regarding the proposed budget outlined by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); the lack of provision to finance face-to-face meetings was brought to light. Additionally, there was some concern over financing a consultant from the funds within the proposed budget. The members sought clarification about provisions to fund the evaluation of the pre-existing Tourism Satellite Account exercises in Jamaica and the Bahamas.

It was agreed that the budget be revised and resubmitted to the IDB. Nevertheless, it was decided that the project should commence before advocating amendments.

  1. Other Business
  • A common agreement was made to draft a Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Recruitment of a consultant. It was determined that the CTO held this responsibility.
  • Members were asked to make recommendations for 3 or 4 consultants. It was agreed that the consultants are required to provide a work plan for the project. A comparative assessment will be made, and the committee will make the final decision.
  • A National Operational Plan should be prepared by the beneficiary countries and submitted to the CTO. Each country should select a representative from their National Inter-Institutional Technical Committee to sit on the Regional Technical Committee.
  • A group session will be created on website, where members can interact.
  • The Terms of Reference for the Regional Coordinating Committee, the Regional Technical Committee and for the Recruitment of a consultant will be distributed within two weeks from this date. The group will then be notified and a meeting date will be agreed upon to discuss the abovementioned documents.
  • A general agreement was made to schedule all other meetings on the 3rd Thursday in every month at 2:30pm Eastern Caribbean Time (ECT), 1:30pm Jamaica’s time.
  1. Date of next meeting

The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for June 23rd, 2011 at 2:30pm.

The Meeting was adjourned at 12:15pm ECT