Sustainable Tourism Division

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DIVISION

Sustainable Tourism Product Specialist’s Report

October 2008- April 2009

1. Summary

The last report to the Sustainable Tourism Technical Committee and the CTO Board of Directorscovered the period April 2008 – September 2008. In late February, 2008 the new Sustainable Tourism (ST) Product Specialist joined the CTO. The major work activities implemented covered theareas of Sustainable Tourism, Disaster Risk Management, Climate Change, Community-Based Tourism and Tourism Standards.

2. Main Activities Executed

Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC)

A decision was taken to postpone the CTO’s annual conference on SustainableTourism Development (STC) for 2009 due to the impact of the global financial situation on our Member countries. A press release dated March 9, 2009 indicating this was issued accordingly. While at the time of this report the theme and host country had not yet been finalized for the 2010 conference, several Member countries have shown interest in hosting the event.

Disaster Risk Management (DRM)

Regional Disaster Risk Management for Sustainable Tourism in the Caribbean Project

The ST Product Specialist attended the CDERA Workshop on Results-Based Management within the context of the Enhanced CDM Strategy from 24-26 February in Barbados.

Based on the concern of the projectpartnersabout the technical competence of the firm initially hired to draft the StrategicDRM plan for the tourism sector, a new consultancy firm was hired in the last quarter of 2008. As such,the Regional Workshop for the Development of the Disaster Risk Management Strategy and Plan of Action and Standards for Conducting Hazard Mapping, Vulnerability Assessment and Economic Valuation for Risk Assessment for the Tourism Sector has been rescheduled to take place From May 5-6, 2009 in Trinidad. It was originally planned for September, 2008. The standards component has been incorporated in this Workshop.Additionally, the second meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) chaired by the University of the West Indies and also of the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) chaired by the ST Product Specialist has been carded for May 7th.

Comments have been provided to CDERA on the Preliminary Draft Indicators for CDM Outputs, the consultants’Draft Inception Reports on the Development of a DRM Strategy and Action Plan for the Caribbean Tourism Sector and the Development of a Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation Framework for the Enhanced CDM Framework as well ason the Draft DRM Strategy for the Tourism Sector in the Caribbean.

Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Coordination and Harmonization Council CHC) Sector Leads Meeting

A Tourism Technical Sub-Committee meeting (chaired by the ST Product Specialist) toadvance CDM implementation at the sector level has been carded for May 8th in Trinidad. It will seek agreement on the Terms of Reference and composition of the Sub-Committee from its core members, which (apart from CDERA and CTO) includerepresentatives of the CAST, CHA, OAS, ACS, UWI and The Bahamas. Representatives of the Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Development Company, Trinidad have also been invited to participate in the upcoming meeting. It will also discuss the way forward for the tourism sector in terms of mainstreaming DRM into Caribbean tourism planning and development activities. A Concept Paper has been prepared as the foundation for these discussions in conjunction with the planned presentations by the CDERA CU.

Caribbean Regional Sustainable Tourism Development Programme(CRSTDP)

The final short term consultancy on Disaster Risk Management was submitted on June 30th after areplacement consultant was hired and given 3 weeks to complete the work it time for the end of the 3year EU funded project. As a result these challenges, the report did not fulfill all the requirements ofCTO and CDERA. The report however, is a good foundational reference document. The documentwas not approved by the EU or printed given the late completion date. Additionally, the climatechange and heritage reports while completed lagged in the project timeline for translations and as aresult are only printed in English. These have been distributed across the CTO member states. TheSustainable Tourism Policy Framework (English only) has been placed on CTO’s website but againbecause of time lags by the consulting firm Carl Bro, the document was not published or fullytranslated in to Spanish and French before the June 30th close off date of the CRSTDP. Thoughcompleted, the policy remains to be endorsed by CTO’s Board/Council of Ministers.

Climate Change

High Level Advisory Committee (HLAC) of the Project: A Review of the Economics of Climate Change (RECC)

UNELAC, POS convened and co-chaired a meeting of the HLAC with CCCCC on March 12, which was attended by the ST Product Specialist. The other attendees included representatives of key donor organizations (DFID, IDB, OAS) and developmental agencies (ACS, PAHO/WHO) that are active in the region as well as Caribbean country representatives, namely, Aruba, The Bahamas, BVI, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and USVI. The Meeting focused on reviewing the project document for the future Phases of the project, fine-tuning the roles, functions and governance mechanisms regarding the HLAC, including a proposed Steering Committee; discussing opportunities for resource mobilization and collaboration and preparations for the COP 15 climate change negotiations forum in December.

CARIBSAVE – Caribbean Climate Change, Tourism and Livelihoods: A Sectoral Approach to Vulnerability and Resilience: Impacts, Adaptation, Mitigation and CapacityBuilding

The CTO has been working with the OxfordUniversityCenter for the Environment on a RegionalClimate change project. CARIBSAVE - iamac project: TheCaribbean Climate Change, Tourism and Livelihoods: A Sectoral Approach to Vulnerability andResilience (impacts, adaptation, mitigation and capacity building) is being jointly executed by theCaribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and the Oxford University Centre for theEnvironment (OUCE) and supported by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), UnitedNations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), theCaribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and Caribbean Association for Sustainable Tourism (CAST).

The aim of this project is, in the face of climate change, to strengthen, protect and enhance theeconomies and livelihoods of Caribbean nations and sectoral stakeholders who rely directly andindirectly on the Caribbean tourism industry, and to strengthen, protect and enhance the natural andbuilt assets, and sectors on which the industry is based. The CARIBSAVE project also aims to facilitate the positioning of the Caribbean as the first carbon neutral region in the world. Approval has been received for 240,000 GBP in additional seed funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the continuation of the project.

Upcoming project activities include the hosting of a two-day CARIBSAVE Oxford Donors and Partners Symposium starting on 30th June and a CARIBSAVE Caribbean Partners Symposium on 21st September.Additionally, a six-month pilot study involving Eleuthera in The Bahamas and Ocho Rios in Jamaica will be conducted as a blueprint for climate and adaptation modeling and vulnerability screening for replication in other Caribbean destinations.

CHENACT –Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency Action Program

This 18-month project was launched on 24th March and is being executed by CTO through CHTA and is financed by: IDB SECCI Fund, CHTA/CAST, UNEP, Government of Barbados, CTO and GTZ. Its objective is to encourage the implementation of energy efficiency practices in the Caribbean hotel sector, hence improving the competitiveness of small, medium and large hotels through improved use of energy. This project is in its early stage of implementation and thus far, a Project Manager has been hired and the evaluation of Expressions of Interest for the selection of a consultancy firm for the implementation of project activities is about to begin.

Community-Based Tourism

The ST Product Specialist participated in the UWI Barbados’ Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination’s Annual Heritage Tourism Workshop from 30-31 March and also conducted a presentation on Good Practice in Community-Based Tourism at the event. The ST Product Specialist also participated in the ACS’ Second Meeting of Tourism Ministers of the Greater Caribbean and the ACS’ Sustainable Tourism Technical Committee Meeting which took place from 23-24 May in Barranquilla, Colombia where she conducted a presentation on policy recommendations to address climate change issues and to promote a community-based tourism approach to sustainable tourism development. Participating in these events created opportunities to promote the CTO’s work in these areas as well as to better understand tourism stakeholder needs to provide a platform for enhanced synergies with these stakeholders and to hone CTO’s sustainable tourism initiatives for improved results.

Regional Tourism Standards

The CTO provided further technical feedback to the Regional Technical Committee-6 of the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards andQuality (CROSQ) on tourism standards for accommodation facilities.

3. Projected Activities

Participate in CDERA Regional Workshop on Disaster Risk Management in Trinidad in May 2009.
Execution of activities for the CDERA-CTO-UWI-CROSQ Project: Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Management for Sustainable Tourism including chairing the PAC and Tourism Sub-Committee Meetings in Trinidad in May 2009.
Participate in IDB Workshop in Barbados in May 2009.
Execution of activities for the CARIBSAVE Project including the Caribbean Partners Symposium in September 2009.
Continued collaboration with the ACS on sustainable tourism indicators and participation in its annual Sustainable Tourism Technical Committee meetings.
Work with RTC-6 Committees to coordinate a regional approach for thedevelopment of standards for the tourism industry.
Represent CTO and organize/participate in tourism conferences, seminars,consultations and workshops.