Desmond Henry TREASURE BEACH:
WELL I'LL be darned. Someone (no, one of the largest investors ever) in the business of tourism, raises genuine concerns about some worrying aspects of the management style of those in charge, and suddenly he becomes almost as detestable as any of our most dangerous, despicable dons.
This country may yet live to thank Butch Stewart for raising a truly timely alarm about where our tourist industry is heading, and who's doing the steering. What's wrong with that? We have a foul habit in Jamaica of reducing most criticisms to personal levels, so that the responses can, if necessary, take on a kind of low-level marketplace fervour. In such instances it is easier to dismiss them as mere trivia.
I suspect that's part of what the Minister had in mind when she reportedly labelled the current concerns about the industry as "cass cass." Cass-cass, you see, is rooted in a concept of squabble without merit. By merely substituting one vowel for another (in this case, an 'a' for a 'u'), you end up with cass instead of cuss. But the emotions remain the same --- not being worthy of either serious thought or response. Worthy only of the kind of inelegance that usually flavours our marketplaces. Well Madam Minister, I beg to differ with you very strongly.
What we are in fact witnessing is one of the most serious challenges yet ever to face our tourism industry. The fact that it is occurring on Minister Simpson Miller's watch, might be both incidental and instructional. If she can grasp its significance and master its challenges, she could end up being one of the most accomplished Ministers this industry has ever had. If, on the other hand, she does not, her fate will be quite the opposite. The points being raised are certainly not cass-cass.
The tourist industry has grown way beyond structures that were once formal and predictable. The markets are wider, demands are more personal, and choices more optional. In marketing language, the industry is far more customer-driven than ever before. This means we have to do more (much more) not just to stay even, but to get ahead. It means being projected in more markets simultaneously, and using all facets of persuasive communication more rewardingly. In other words, paid projection. Without promotional money, this industry cannot be in all its primary markets at the times when it needs to be; in ways that are appropriate and winnable. In this business, out of sight usually means out of mind.
But not to worry. It is an industry that over-compensates handsomely for each dollar spent in its promotion. The pay back is huge. In that sense, therefore, it becomes highly rewarding and profitable. It must be only the bureaucrats at the Ministry of Finance who do not understand this, and to a lesser extent some at the Tourism Ministry who are similarly disposed. What this means is that the country's biggest revenue earner is being deprived of the means of earning even more, by thoughtless penny-pinchers in the Ministry of Finance. It's like a fast food chain hesitating to put more money in its hamburgers, even when all studies show that the hamburger is its runaway money maker. This, I believe, was the essential point Mr. Stewart was trying to make.
What I would like to see is a complete and comprehensive public balance sheet on the entire tourist industry. It should be audit-designed and presented in such a way that, for the first time, the country gets the fullest appreciation of the economic picture of tourism. It should include total existing investments from the large players, through the medium ones, to the small ones, down to villas and bed & breakfasts. It should show investments in place, and investments proposed. It should also include investments on transportation in the air, and on the ground. It should list investments in attractions on transportation in the air, and on the ground. It should list investments in attractions, foods, restaurants, entertainment, souvenirs and all other aspects of the country's economic life, that benefits from tourism. I believe it would be a truly staggering picture, and could once and for all penetrate the skulls of those who still don't get it.
While this is being done, the Prime Minister should convene a special blue-ribbon panel to discuss the status quo, and to hear constructive views on how best to proceed. It should for example, look at administrative streamlining and how much of, say, TPDCo's functions conflict with agencies like HEART and the Bureau of Standards.
CO-OPERATION, NOT FRAGMENTATION
When TPDCo was originally set up there was no HEART, and the Standards Bureau was in its infancy. The same kind of rigid examination on the administrative side should be employed on the marketing side to see whether there is competitive relevance in the things we do, and how we do them.
Are we putting the right horses on the right courses, for example. My own view is that there should be cross-sharing of budgets and personnel wherever possible. Bear in mind that there is a prevailing kind of obtuseness in the way dyed-in-the-wool bureaucrats understand and interpret the marketing process. The future of this industry lies in co-operation, not fragmentation.
It is high time for this industry to grow up, and for those who administer and invest in it, to share common perspectives about its peculiarities and possibilities. When a Minister, therefore, is being badly advised it should be so stated, just as forthrightly as when another Ministry is being inexplicably niggardly in the provision of funds for the country's growth. Government agencies need to understand their roles as eager facilitators, not stubborn agitators. Has anyone in this country ever contemplated seriously, the possibility of a day when either Sandals or SuperClubs might get so frustrated and say to Jamaica, enough is enough. Think about it. We need to show maturity.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
If you are skating on thin ice, make sure you skate real fast.
Desmond Henry is a marketing strategist based in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth.
