WTTC Calls For Flexible Visas, Regional Airlines, and Biodiversity Replacements

Barbara 26th October, 2022

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The president of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Julia Simpson, has made a call for flexible visas, regional airlines, and biodiversity replacements in the Caribbean. The global tourism and travel boss stated this while speaking to stakeholders in the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) who attended the Caribbean Travel Forum in Puerto Rico.

Simpson said that for tourism and travel revenue to rise in the Caribbean, the region must establish flexible visas for visitors, resuscitate regional airlines, and fight biodiversity loss. According to her, regional governments should do everything in their power to reward businesses that promote environmental friendliness and that work towards fighting the loss of natural floral and fauna which are the glory of the Caribbean.

Making a case for flexible visas, Simple cited the example of Barbados which allows visitors to remain in the country for one year on its Welcome Stamp programme. “Not only do these visitors get to enjoy life in the Caribbean, they support local businesses and the country’s economic recovery,” she posited.

And in urging the continent to resuscitate its regional airlines, the WTTC chief said local airlines will boost air connectivity between islands and reduce the cost of air travel for tourists coming into the Caribbean. She said that affordable air travel and tourism go together, and that regional airlines would raise the standard of sightseeing businesses in the region.

Some of you may have seen a fantastic WTTC report where we predict that over the next 10 years the region could achieve an annual growth rate of 6.7%. This would make the sector worth almost US$100 billion by 2032 and bring 1.3 million new jobs to these beautiful islands; a monumental achievement that is within our grasp. It’s up to all of us.
Julia Simpson, President of the World Travel and Tourism Council

In Dominica, a development specialist and cultural administrator, Sobers Esprit, has called for a team of skilled and proficient professionals to be constituted into festival planners for the World Creole Music Festival (WCMF). Esprit said WCMF will rightly become a high-grossing revenue experience if the right people are teamed as event planners for the festival.