A new Caribbean tourism group founded by the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s former Canadian BDM has launched in Canada. One Caribbean Canada is the brainchild of Nancy Drolet, who has assembled an inaugural list of 18 destinations and several hotels in the region, with the notion of banding together to better promote the Caribbean in this country.
Drolet, who has sold and promoted Caribbean tourism for over 40 years in Canada and who was the CTO’s rep when the organization pulled out of Canada (and other markets) in 2019, says there’s been a gap in the market for aggregated information promoting the region ever since – and even before, noting that the CTO has come and gone in Canada over the years and as such doesn’t necessarily have strong brand recognition with Canadians.
“So, we decided to do it ourselves,” she told Travel Industry Today on Friday, while driving to the Ottawa Travel Show to waive the One Caribbean Canada flag over the weekend.
Notably, the model is based on the CTO’s successful – and self-funded – UK chapter model.
Founding partners include Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nassau-Paradise Islands, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, St. Martin, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, plus several hotels.
And there are more to come as budget cycles renew with various countries and suppliers. Any country that touches the Caribbean (including South and Central American countries, and Mexico) are prospects.
Notably, many of the members are smaller islands that lack resources to make a big splash on their own.
Based on its onecaribbeancanada.ca website, the one-stop resource is aimed collectively at consumers, journalists, travel advisors, and meeting planners.
The trade audience will find a specific password-protected area that contains contact information and links that “consumers won’t need.” For example, links to Specialist Training programs and hosted webinar platforms like Spoiled Agent.
The general site features a map and logo links to member destinations and information categories include accommodation, transportation, and special offers, plus nine niche themes, among them romance, gastronomy, wellness, and festivals.
Various bits of essential information include flight information, entry requirements and destination wedding details, etc. for each country. Downloadable brochures and links to destination literature and videos will also be provided.
Drolet says the dynamic site, in addition to adding more destinations and hotels, will continue to add new information sections, such as inter-island travel (air, ferries, etc.).
There will also be a Facebook page and social media as the roll-out continues, and an (opt-in) quick-hit weekly information e-blast.
Drolet is quick to emphasize that onecaribbeancanada.com is not a booking site.
With multiple Caribbean tourism offices and hotels on board, a key objective says Drolet, is to provide their resources on one website to effectively market their destinations, and in doing so, being consistent and current.
“For consumers, this new website offers a place to start their research with information and links to multiple destinations in the Caribbean… We recognized that consumers were going to find us anyway, so why not provide them with the information they are looking for – all countries in one place,” she adds. “Why remember 25 or 30 website addresses, when you can remember one and from there, we connect you to everyone?”
Mikala Moss, GM of Sales & Marketing for The Islands of The Bahamas in Canada, says, “We are each working for different countries, and we all have different websites with information located in different places. One Caribbean Canada will centralize the information on Caribbean countries such that the same information for each country will be in the same place on each destination page. What a time saver that will be for our travel partners.”
Another partner, Shelley John, Director of Sales for the St. Vincent and The Grenadines Tourism Office in Canada, adds, “There was a void left when CTO closed their Canadian office. There are times when each country will promote themselves separately, but there will be instances when we as relatively small Caribbean destinations will need to make our presence felt, by joining forces to promote the region as a whole. It has been proven that our voices will be heard stronger when we join together in unison.”
Drolet concludes, “We want this site to be the start of a renewed partnership with our travel advisors and look forward to your (agents’) input and suggestions. It is our hope that One Caribbean Canada will not only promote the Caribbean but be a simplified resource for both future visitors to the Caribbean and to our travel partners.
“I love promoting the Caribbean,” she adds. “There’s nothing like the colour of that turquoise water!”
The CTO reports that Canadian arrivals to the Caribbean reached 88.1% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023, with an estimated three million tourist visits by the end of the year.