Redefining innovation in Caribbean tourism

Beverly Nicholson Doty

One of the Caribbean’s foremost tourism strategists, Beverly Nicholson Doty, argues that the region’s greatest innovations are not found in artificial intelligence or smart cities but in its leadership in sustainability, resilience and stewardship.

In a thought-provoking blog for the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) Allied Member Insights series, the CEO of Figment Marketing and former CTO chairman contends that the Caribbean is already demonstrating a distinctive model of innovation by protecting ecosystems, adapting to climate change and creating authentic visitor experiences.

“Technology isn’t the only way to answer what travelers want. How you steward your resources, how you build resilience, how you adapt to real challenges — that matters just as much,” writes Nicholson Doty.

Citing examples from Aruba’s renewable energy initiatives, Belize’s reef restoration programs and conservation efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the former tourism leader in both the U.S. Virgin Islands and Saint Lucia concludes that the Caribbean “doesn’t need to become the next Silicon Valley. Perhaps it’s already showing the world another model of innovation, one rooted in resilience, sustainability and stewardship.”

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), in partnership with the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) and George Brown Polytechnic, brought together tourism leaders, policymakers, academics and industry stakeholders in Toronto for the Canadian–Caribbean Tourism Resilience Symposium last week.

Held under the theme “Co-Designing the Next Decade,” the symposium explored how stronger partnerships, innovation and strategic investment can help build more resilient and sustainable tourism destinations.

Opening the symposium, CTO Secretary-General and CEO Dona Regis-Prosper reminded delegates that “resilience is not something we create after a crisis. It is something we build every day,” emphasizing that resilience must be embedded in tourism policies, institutions and people.

Jamaica’s minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett, declared that “the world has changed [and] tourism must change with it,” calling for greater investment in preparedness and a permanent Global Tourism Resilience Fund.

CTO Deputy Director of Sustainable Tourism Narendra Ramgulam stressed the importance of planning before disaster strikes, observing that “Noah didn’t build the ark when the rain started falling; he built it before the first cloud appeared,” while CTO Director of Resource Mobilization and Development Sharon Banfield-Bovell underscored that tourism resilience is ultimately people resilience, urging stronger collaboration among governments, employers, educators and the tourism industry to build a workforce equipped for the future.