Tourism Development Strategy Given Green Light by Cabinet
The Cabinet has approved the tourism development strategy 2019-2022.
Premier Donaldson Romeo says it will aid in attracting financing for projects to improve the island’s tourism product.
The strategy is centered on the vision “Sustainable Development Through Quality Tourism”, supported by key strategic pillars – the customer, the environment, technology, and the people of Montserrat, all built on a solid foundation of quality.
The strategic areas include using the volcano as a strong pull factor to position Montserrat as a must-see destination in the Caribbean.
Other areas include using technology to drive competitiveness, conserving the environment, developing quality tourism products, and deploying the latest digital techniques to effectively and efficiently market Montserrat
The Tourism Strategy was developed by Tourism Intelligence International Inc.
It highlights that the current situation does not allow Montserrat to attract high-end visitors at this time.
However, attracting and promoting high spend is achievable.
The combination of strategies will help the destination to achieve higher visitor spend in the medium term while setting the foundation to put Montserrat on the right path to being able to target high-end visitors in the long-term.
Total Tourism arrivals to Montserrat (a combination of stay over and excursionists) grew at an annual growth rate of 8.5% from 9,900 in 2012 to 13,700 in 2016.
Stay over arrivals to Montserrat grew at an annual growth rate of 4.5% from 7,300 in 2012 to 8,700 in 2016.