Former Tourism Minister Ralph Higgs says the tourism marketing tool - Experience Turks the Caicos and its management arm, the Destination Management and Marketing Organisation, have fallen woefully short of attaining its objecting.
Higgs made the statement in a news release, reiterating the opposition Peoples Democratic Movement’s (PDM) position that scrapping the former Tourist Board and replacing it with the DDMO was a counterproductive idea.
The following is Higgs’ statement:
(DDMO)It has been almost one year since the ill advised closure of the Tourist Board, one of the country’s oldest and most recognized institutions.
Its replacement, the DMO/Experience Turks and Caicos, has fallen far short of TCIG’s, Turks and Caicos Islanders’ and Industry’s expectations.
All of the grand ideas and promises associated with the rollout of the DMO have so far, turned out to be nothing but fluff.
In many TCIG circles, it is widely accepted that demolishing the Tourist Board by the Premier and his minister of tourism, laying off the majority of it’s experienced staff and closing all of the country’s Marketing, Promotions and Representative offices was a big mistake.
To-date the DMO has not been able to, with few exceptions, hire the number of qualified and experienced staff to properly run the organization. The interim CEO, who was recruited from oversees to mange the transition has left the DMO without achieving the organization’s goals at this juncture.
The DMO/ Experience Turks and Caicos, and the Country’s Tourism sector (public sector) is without a leader. There is no comprehensive or strategic marketing plan in place to keep the Turks and Caicos Islands visible in the marketplace.
Since the Ministry of Tourism closed our representative offices in the United States, Canada, UK, Brazil, and Italy, which the Tourist Board successfully ran for many years (some since the late nineties) our Country has had no sale’s presence, no advertising or PR campaigns in these our major source markets.
Notwithstanding the apparent growth in tourism which our destination is currently enjoying, the DMO’s existence hasn’t not contributed one iota to it. In fact, since the demolition of the Tourist Board, TCI’s Tourism has been on autopilot following the pace, course and goodwill, previously set by the Tourist Board.
Most of the country’s major infrastructure, countrywide, which is needed to support our Tourism sector, ease of life and doing business in the TCI have fallen in a serious state of disrepair. Product development or enhancement of our natural attractions is almost a thing of the past.
As a result too many of our National Parks, Nature Reserves and sanctuaries, towns and communities are in need of lots of TLC (Tender Love and Care).
It is really shortsighted on the part of TCIG, that the National Trust, our country’s oldest and most experienced product development and sites management agency is not a member of the Board of Directors for the DMO.
It is also the view of many professionals in the Tourism sector that the Board of Directors of the DMO is made up of too many career civil servants and political appointees of statutory bodies to be effective.
Finally, the only tangible thing the TCIG and the DMO/ Experience Turks and Caicos, can point to so far as it relates to our country’s Tourism, is the introduction of the $10.00 tax on
TC Islanders and travelers to our shores. Sadly, the money collected from this new tax sits in the TCIAA’s bank account and is not being deployed for the betterment of TCI Tourism.
The jury is still out on the DMO/Experience Turks and Caicos. Most people now believe that the demolition of the Tourist Board and firing of most of its staff was not necessary. They also believe that a revamped Tourist Board, with an amended an improved Tourism Ordinance, with same budget that the DMO now received, would have been a smarter way forward for TCI Tourism. Why did this Premier and his minister of Tourism close down the Tourist Board to experiment with this, so far, impractical DMO?
Experience Turks and Caicos has not yet given us any experiences which will allow the people of the TCI to give them anything more than an F plus.
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