Tourism & Technology: It’s time to pivot – Basil Springer Column
By Basil Springer
| BASIL SPRINGER COLUMN (OCTOBER 26, 2020) |
| “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26 This series of columns, on the theme “Tourism is Our Key”, positions tourism as the sector which can best be the catalyst to lead the Caribbean COVID-19 transition recovery thrust provided we all move forward together. We have seen that a structured business approach, in the form of a “Tourism Economic Gearing System”, is paramount to restoring the circular flow of money. A basic need of residents of and visitors to any tourism destination is food and water and therein lies a major opportunity – “Agriculture, the Green economy and the Blue economy”. In combination these constitute “Big Business”.The theme, “Tourism & Technology: It’s time to Pivot”, embraces all technological matters. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has launched the Pivot Movement to harness the most innovative ideas for Caribbean development and create a plan for the future of the region. Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley gave the opening address on October 15 at the inaugural Pivot Event, a virtual five-day gathering of pioneering thinkers in the Caribbean region – https://youtu.be/Dxb6tH4slqI . In her exceptional presentation, the Barbadian leader cited a plethora of Caribbean icons who have etched an indelible imprint on the annals of global history in many areas, including administration, agriculture, arts (fine and literary), economics, education, environment, fashion, ICT, innovation, music, politics, renewable energy, science, social partnerships, sports, and technology.Prime Minister Mottley urged the people of the Caribbean to shed self-contempt and harness cultural confidence and creative imagination to allow the region to secure its place as a world leader in technology and innovation. In my column of May 11, 2020, I suggested that in the first instance, a COVID-19 transition strategy is required coupled with a “SEA” change – Sequential Evolutionary Approach. In essence, establishing a Vision and a Plan to achieve the established objectives in a step-by-step manner. I have been following with great interest the growth of the prime minister’s demand as an international speaker and thought leader over the past two years, in particular, and applaud her for her continuing efforts to place the region on the world stage, and in so doing, attracting visitors to the region. In the same way a shot put trainer advises the athlete to “pivot on his leg and find that balance”, Mia Mottley advises our entrepreneurs to scale up our innovative tourism linkage initiatives and pivot the Caribbean as a global leader into the international marketplace as a catalyst for sustainable economic growth. Marketplace Excellence (MPE), a U.S.-based public relations and marketing agency led by my son Bevan Springer, is currently demonstrating, in the health, hospitality, technology and enterprise development sectors, the pivoting principle by charting a successful digital marketing path in the global supply and demand markets. We must continue apace and not only survive today’s pandemic, but be prepared to thrive, while leveraging the incredible gifts, talents and abilities of our people. As the prime minister indicates, the region is replete with examples of global success. Indeed, I often reflect on how much we have accomplished on the global stage given our relatively small population size. In today’s global village, we have even more reason to excel by pivoting across the field of technology. The Ishtara Centre, a natural health clinic run by licensed medical doctors in Trinidad and Tobago, was founded by Dr. Harry Ramnarine and represents his pioneering work over the last 45 years in the field of energy medicine, quantum field technology and biomathematics. This is yet another shining example of what’s possible if we as Caribbean simply believe. It starts with a vision, and is followed by a plan, a robust communications and marketing charge, and a multitude of counsel that will inevitably position our region and our people on the world stage. And, the successful execution of the strategy ultimately generates interest in our bread and butter tourism sector. As we navigate today’s challenges, we declare that we will not only survive, but we shall leverage technology to thrive. Moreover, we shall demonstrate to the world that all things are possible to those who believe. |
