The MPE Caribbean Report Newsletter offers travel, tourism, Caribbean and global news each week. To share stories, information or intelligence, contact us at [email protected].

JUNE 13, 2022

WTTC to talk sustainability in San Juan

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) stages its Sustainability & Investment Summit in San Juan, Puerto Rico, this week, featuring environmental activist and filmmaker Alexandra Cousteau and former Treasurer of the United States, Rosario Marin.

Set for June 14, 2022, the event will bring together tourism leaders from across the globe to analyze the challenges facing the sector.

At the event, WTTC, which represents the global private travel and tourism sector, will endorse the sector’s commitment to preserve the planet and its biodiversity and address climate change. The Summit will focus on building resilience in travel and tourism through investment, sustainable growth and the development of communities.

Other notable speakers set to address participants include WTTC Chairman Arnold Donald, President & CEO of Carnival Corporation; Senator Lisa Cummins, Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Barbados; Jennifer Aguinaga, Deputy Director for Policy & Planning, U.S. Department of Commerce; Nicola Madden-Greig, President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association; Carlos Mercado, Executive Director, Puerto Rico Tourism Company; and Frank Rainieri, Chairman & Founder, Grupo Puntacana.

The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) will celebrate its 50th anniversary during its annual Cruise Conference and Tradeshow this fall. The 28th edition of the landmark cruise industry event will be held from October 11 to 14, 2022, in the Dominican Republic.  Meanwhile, the trade association reported its Caribbean Cruise Summit, which was hosted by Puerto Rico earlier this month, was a resounding success. More than 400 attendees joined 50 high-level executives from FCCA Member Lines to discuss issues facing the industry.  A focus of the gathering was to reveal a revamped initiative to boost employment in FCCA-represented destinations.  “With many destinations and people still recovering their economies and livelihoods following the effects of COVID-19, our efforts to increase employment of locals throughout our partner destinations are more important than ever,” said Michele Paige, FCCA’s Chief Executive Officer.  “While we have already worked on this for many years with numerous destinations – and seen not only initial employment, but also many rising through the ranks on board and even reaching executive positions – our revamping of this program should benefit countless more people and families,” she added.  FCCA’s revamped Employment Committee comprises Human Resources executives from FCCA Member Lines who are ready to help guide destinations through the process of cruise companies hiring local citizens.  A number of employment partnerships between the cruise sector and Caribbean destinations have already been inked, and hiring initiatives commenced.

Global investors descend on MoBay this week

Jamaica is hosting the 8th World Free Zone Organisation’s Annual International Conference (AICE2022) from June 13 to 17, 2022, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

The island nation is seeking to attract investments in several mega free zones and special economic zone developments, including Trelawny’s WEST77 Tech Park.

Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill, said when fully developed, WEST77 will be an internationally recognized epicenter for technology and innovation in Jamaica. He adds that it will be a world-class facility with clusters of leading innovators in industry, business, and education in a mixed-use sustainable environment.

Another concept project, which is an integral part of the proposed development, is the Olympus Sports City, which is expected to become a world-class center of sporting excellence.

AICE2022 has attracted conference delegates from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Curaçao, India, Morocco, Panama, Philippines and the United Arab Emirates. Participants are expected to tour greenfield sites during the event.

Bermuda tourism has new interim leader

The Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) has appointed Tracy Berkeley as its interim CEO, following the departure of Charles Jeffers, who served in the position for a little over one year.

Berkeley, who served previously as Chief Administration Officer, has more than 20 years of diverse global, strategic, HR and operational experience in the reinsurance, tourism, health care and international business sectors.

Erin Smith, who previously served as Chief Information Officer, has been promoted to Chief Operations Officer.

Jamari Douglas joins the BTA in the newly created post of VP, Marketing, PR and Communications. He was recruited from the Bermuda Business Development Agency where he served as Marketing Director.

More about PR

Want to know even more about Public Relations vs Advertisingfollowing last week’s teaser? We’re glad you asked!

As we noted, PR and advertising serve different purposes, but they work together as part of a successful marketing strategy. This week, we offer some examples to illustrate the PR profession. Next week, we’ll serve up some of the advertising variety.

PR content is most commonly delivered in the form of a press (or news) release, but can also be conveyed by:

• Providing your client’s comments or quotes on a newsworthy topic to a reporter
• Submitting a timely editorial written by the client 
• Creating social media posts for the client’s accounts 
• Holding events that showcase the client and its talents, products or services
• Organizing interviews, trips or events for members of the media to experience what your client has to offer (e.g., a wine tasting for a vineyard client or a familiarization trip for a travel destination client)

The goal of PR efforts is to generate media coverage, whether that be getting your client interviewed on national television or having a news release picked up by media outlets.

Releases are a great way to share news about your client, whether it’s a new product, a new music album or a hotel development in a travel destination. When written like news stories, press releases are more likely to be picked up and published by media outlets.

Examples

• Your client owns a vineyard. You hear about a reporter who wants to interview people about the effects of pandemic supply chain issues on the winemaking industry. You contact the reporter and explain who your client is, their expertise on the subject and how they have handled the pandemic at their vineyard. The reporter requests an interview with your client for an upcoming TV segment. Your client, and their vineyard, are featured on television.

• Your client makes unique, handcrafted jewelry. You research events for showcasing your client’s products. You come up with these options:
• A vendor booth at a popular craft fair where your client can sell their work
• A wedding convention where your client can display their bridal line
• A high-end charitable event where your client can donate a piece for auction and be profiled in the event’s promotional materials

As a PR practitioner, you can leverage these opportunities to create media buzz for your client.

Digital Digest

Social Media (SM) Platforms: An Introduction 

Social media has grown into a powerful force in digital communications and today’s platforms are a primary source for content creation and consumption. Here’s a breakdown of some popular channels:

Facebook: Among the largest social media platforms, Facebook initially started as a photo sharing network. While it can deliver on many fronts, its preferred use is to increase brand reach, grow engagement and generate leads.

Twitter: The only microblogging platform on social media, Twitter’s character limit challenges communication teams to create content that’s easy to consume and interact with. Use Twitter to create or ride a hashtag, engage with influencers and Key Opinion Leaders (KOL), broadcast messages, push news, and increase direct brand awareness with consumers. 

LinkedIn: This is a professional SM network. LinkedIn’s content sharing capabilities are similar to Facebook, and platform-specific functions such as InMail and Articles are great resources to grow business. Use LinkedIn for increasing business awareness, creating B2B connections, promoting thought leadership and recruiting.

TikTok: Known for its innovative content creation capabilities and endless content library, this is the newest player in the SM space. TikTok is a great platform to increase brand reach, create word-of-mouth buzz, ride a trend, run an influencer campaign, and create easy-to-consume content preferred by Gen Z.

Instagram: Instagram is probably the “best looking” of all SM platforms. It’s the social gallery of the social media community and is a winner when it comes to short content, stories and pictures. It offers high reach and shares the advertising platform with Facebook. Use IG for brand engagement, influencer campaigns, photos, short video content and hashtag campaigns. 

YouTube: YouTube is the best platform for long-form video content and offers great content creation functions. The platform was recently overtaken by TikTok in average user watch time, but YouTube watch time for long-form content is still powerful. Use YouTube for long-form videos, creating a brand collateral library, engagement and monetization. 

The major objectives for SM are reach, engagement and traffic generation for owned properties, but it can be leveraged for broader objectives such as audience/industry research, monetization, lead generation and user generated content. A successful social media strategy will capitalize on the strength of each platform and will create platform-specific content to attract and engage the audience.

MPE Caribbean Report

A top Marriott International sales and marketing executive is pleased with the Caribbean’s tourism recovery. Marriott’s Diana Plazas-Trowbridge shares what’s new for the hospitality giant, including the growth of the all-inclusive segment.

Marketplace Excellence Corporation (MPE) is a global public relations, marketing and media company.