Parliamentary Representative for Roseau Norris Prevost has suggested that Dominica emulate LIME’s marketing mode as the country faces difficulties in the tourism industry.
Speaking at the opening of Creole in the Park (CITP) on Monday Prevost said LIME was the first headline sponsor of the World Creole Music Festival (WCMF) but when the company was displaced by competitors, it never lost its marketing focus.
“LIME recognized the great potential in the WCMF, and when they lost the headline sponsorship, LIME did not lose their marketing focus. They came up with one of the most creative additions to WCMF – Creole in the Park,” he said.
Prevost described CITP as the most innovative activity organized in Dominica since the WCMF.
He said Dominica should take a page from LIME’s approach. “I draw attention to the LIME marketing response to their loss of the headline sponsorship, because it has a lot of relevance to today’s situation, as Dominica struggles with some very serious challenges in the tourism sector,” the Roseau MP said.
He has also suggested that Dominica focus on what he described as ‘core customers’ to assist the tourism industry which he said is “on the brink.”
According to Prevost, the core customers are “the French Antilles, Dominicans overseas, Ross University and Dominican artistes.”
These core customers, Prevost noted, should be given special treatments and special incentives for events such as the WCMF.
“I believe, I firmly believe, that if we treat these most important customers special, we can double the attendance and the foreign exchange earnings of WCMF and reverse the declining trend in our tourism,” he argued.
right on track mr prevost… ur suggestions are very invaluable free advice and if these people do not embrace ur vision then we will continue to doom in failure
Maybe you should put people like Sillas Bruno back in jail so people aren’t so scared to visit Dominica.
Garçon how many time must Marn come here and tell allyou doh depend on dat Tourist Bizniss,,,
Garçon you have all dem students coming back from China, Venezuela, cuba and allova d place with Marketing degrees, put there arses to work and let dem do an extensive market research on how Dominica could play a role on the international market with it’s capabilities of supplying fresh Organically Grown Produce nuh,,,
Is Agro-industry we can market Garcon there is soh much you can do with the Eco-Tourism biizniss!!!
Focus on d Agro-Industry and forget about dat tourism Bizniss, what happen to mista Dem nuh,,,
Soh Long allyou cannot get d hint yet den,,, All dem other Islands dat have been Tourist destinations for years feeling Blows allyou dat have Rain every Day want to tell somebody to come down there???
For what nuh??? Yes you can come see the waterfalls and you and come go mountain and check out a river and all that,,, But the average Tourist who makes up the majority of the Tourist want to come to check out a Casino and go sit in the sun while they get served,,,
D way I see it Dominica will neva get up to dem standards until the infrastructure is vastly Improved in d mean time lets focus on d Agro,,,
So Doh Look at LIME to try to emulate dem in deir business strategy didn’t they just lay off a whole bunch of pardners nuh???
Mr. Prevost spoke at a fucntion of the private sector entity. When he is invited to speak at government’s functions 9new Chinese Bridge, Morne Bruce Water Tank etc)he has absented himself. See what will happen on Saturday at Market Day with a difference.
He was seen cuddling up very warmly to the President they say is an illegal President. Wow!!
Does that mean that the president is legal? Go to school.
The answers are easy and affordable. Not as exciting as an Itl Airport, but far cheaper.
1. Advertise to and help the Guadeloupe and Martinique people to arrive easier.
They are already aware of the place. They do not think that we are the Dominican Republic. Cut embarkation time for tourists. Put them to the front of the queue. I do not care what they do to us, we are the ones starving while they are making good money. We do not have the luxury of messing about our small amount of visitors. Do not make them wait 2 hours in December again.
2. Invest money (they are already talking about this) in small feeder flights and ferries from Itl airports on other islands. No overnight stay in Antigua or PR or St Martin or Barbados.
Extra ferries should be put on for connecting flights from Gwada and Martinique. Again no need to overnight. More money for DA.
3. Cut the budget for Worldwide promotion. One high official of DDA flew to Korea with her family. OUR Money. What a waste. You see any Koreans here? How many divers we get from San Francisco? YES they went their too … OUR money. Stop this nonsense. Spend that obviously oversised budget on FWI and Caricom.
Barbados and Antigua have many many tourists (maybe not as many as they used to have) and some are living there for the winter. A weekend getaway advertised there with Friday eve / Sunday eve flights would bring in some of these. they have money and they have the time. They have glossy magazines that the visitor reads. Advertise there.
None of this costs much money.
I need to hear a proposal from the minister of Agriculture.
This is RIDICULOUS! You can’t have such high air port fees, airlines American Eagle and Liat cutting flights flights, and DOUBLING the Student Visa fee from to $500EC LAST MONTH and expect people to want to come here. When we do come here, we get raked over the coals by the government.
Its much cheaper to go to other countries and their governments don’t try to take advantage of foreigners. A more pragmatic approach is to remove all fees associated with people coming here (and staying here) and give incentives for big resorts to come and build here so that many tourist come and buy stuff. The goal should be revenue from VAT tax on sales, not taxes on getting here.
I was with you until BIG RERSORTS.
Big resorts are owned by foreigners, hire foreigners for the good jobs and take away the profit to foreign soil. They are nearly always all inclusive and are discouraged from leaving the resort (by scare tactics mostly).
NOT what we need.
We already have enough places. Some more is good, but it is not the accommodation that is at fault.
We are NOT a beach destination. We are adventure/health destination … promote that. Millions love that.
I disagree with you,and agrees with the truth.
The governmentand those so called politicians are always trying to get one on anybody the can.
they do not put Dominica first, but their own pockets.During the festivals,lots of visitors come to the island,but you never hear how the money made is implimented.
Think big, and stop with the “a little”.
we need resorts, and much more, can keep it healthy,while the young peopleget jobs.
Wake up!!!!!!!Dominicans.
I agree 100% Well said!
@ Truth…Well Said…..For once an intelligent comment on DNO…
You lost me with the big resorts. That will never happen in Dominica as the product here is very niched. Big resorts are based on mass and mass likes miles of white sand and turquoise water yadda yadda yadda. NO matter how many internatinal airports you build here those big resorts will never be filled.
Eco is ecatly that. Dominica is nature-based and nature is very fragile so you cannot have masses anyway as it will destroy whatever we do have. Already poor management of resources has our rivers drying up like flies. Reefs being destroyed. Drinking water getting more polluted and the list goes on. Now you want to bring big resorts and masses? You think we are Barbados? flat rock with sand? we are talking crystal (Dominica) versus stainless steel (barbados). Obviously how you handle crystal is vastly different to how you handle stainless steel.
Totally agree with you that revenue should be based on VAT from sales as that indicates a thriving economy and everybody is happy.
The problem is and always has been that we don’t know HOW to grow the economy. We dont have the capability which is why every administration has always gone the “easy” route and thats to tax to death whatever money that somehow managed to beat all the odds and reach our shores.
Beat-to-death taxes is why Dominica is so broke today and has not moved one step forward and in fact has regressed. All industries have been reduced significantly. Most businesses want out today if they could.
Lets start by understanding who exactly we are first. Once we can get that right and establish the correct SWOT analysis? then and only then can we move towards earning revenue on VAT sales as oppoesed to beat-to-death taxes.
“We dont have the capability which is why every administration has always gone the “easy” route and thats to tax to death whatever money that somehow managed to beat all the odds and reach our shores. ”
Best thing I have read on DNO. The taxes here are lazy mans way of paying for his ass. It is basically mugging.
The food prices are outrageous. A man here who earns 50EC a day is expected to pay 5 times what a man in the US pays with his good wages.
Food is not an optional commodity yet we kill ourselves. Basic food such as rice and wheat should be no tax.
Is this all import duty and freight charges? NO. It is also the wholesalers who are crushing the poor man with their extortionate prices at the desk.
I wish to support Mr. Prevost.On numerous occasions we have heard Skerrit and his supporters bellowing that all the UWP is famous for is criticisms of his administration,now Mr. Prevost has given them some free advise I wonder wether they will even think of it. We are aware of the many advises Mr. AAron and his agricultural team have given them to which they have dumped in the gabbage bin.We are also aware of the role Mr. Edison James has played relative to agriculture,they have dismised him like he never existed. I honestly believe the UWP should, for the sake of Dominca still continue to assist that incompetent Skerrit Labor Party Government.
boy o boy how so good we can talk,no wander the parrot on the flag mouth stay shut,can’t get a chance to say something.
I have always seen you as a brilliant man,and i respect you for that.Good speech and something which needs to pondered upon. If you were my candidate my vote would surely be yours. You have always impressed me whenever you speak.
Mr Prevost….has raised some valid points which should considered as “FOOD FOR THOUGHT”. not the solution to dominica’s tourist issue.
Concentrating on core visitors is a must, because without them the tourism in DA will come to a stand still
Surveys of visitors is important to gauge what is important to them, resulting an action plan to meet their needs.
The Intl airport is very important, but the planning for now should be to focus on the development of the considered PLACES OF INTEREST, the quality of hotels, Bed and Breakfast, transportation, financial transaction, customer service. ensuring that tourist facilities are in place and fit for purpose.
Marketing of Da in other countries other than the usual suspect, North America and Europe is long time overdue. looking closer to home within the caribbean itself is a good start.
So there is a great deal that can done in the meantime.
Its good to hear some sugestions from the opposition minister more idears and less complaining will make dominica better
i think skerrit should pay to bring some pple down for the creole fest the same way he pay for them to come down to vote .but this time instead of he getting their votes they will be spending money .my opinion
Agreed.
Mr Prevost if anyone in the cabinet wavette had half of your smarts Dominica would not have been in such a deplorable condition.
Instead of developing the country this labor plunderers are too busy getting rich; They giving contracts to companies owned by ministers who are board of directors of the very same companies. Ministers hiding behind people who worked for them at their businesses.
I know I am off tracking here but it is disgusting that Off Shore Marine seem to be the company of choice. It is disturbing that public works department is getting government contracts through another company who themselves got the contract from government and in turn giving the job to public works less their 20 percent mark up!!! See the corruption??? They cannot deny that DNO.
We wonder why things are so bad in Dominica ? The answer is mass corruption. The PS of one minister is the minister’s brother? According to SKERRIT Dominica is not a real country. That level of corruption is not conducive to development iniatives. So the horrible performance of the current administration must continue as our people are way to ignorant and dependent upon the crumbs that drop from the tabe of the corrupt political masters.
Where was all his smarts when his party was in power? Just asking.
If you are notg so bias you will realize that the work of the UWP in 4 years was much more meaningful than the 13 years of Labor Party. I need not go into details however if you look past your nose you may want to ask Tony Astaphan about the fabricated lies by Rosie douglas and others.
With all that i said this is your response. You are so shallow not even a snake would crawl along your paths
Has Prevost looked at the cost of flying to Dominica? How about looking at reducing all the various fees and taxes to encourage regional travel. There used to be a time when people used to take a short trip to teh varous islands. LIAT used to have very reasonable rates for 21 day travel. All that is gone.
How many people can affort to travel unless it is absolutely necessary. That goes for Dominicans travelling to other islands and others coming to our shores.
The governments must take a few steps back and re-examine their strategy. Their strategies for bringing visitors to their shore are inconsistent with their other policies and fees.
They should get rid of all those pesky fees and allow greater movement of people. The islands’ tourism product will improve, LIAT’s bottom line will improve, there will be more money in circulation, there will be more contact with our Caribbean brothers. Everybody wins.
Trinidad subsidizes fares between Trinidad and Tobago. We need not go that far, but try getting a flight last minute between the two islands. The planes are full to the brim. If the fares are reasonable, people will fly, otherwise they will just stay where they are.
Mr Prevost tell them how to do it…but their heads between their legs…heehee
Hmm, Prevy my boy you can talk all you want..
Dominicans not singing or listening to your song.
nah..they love their PM too much to revisit a shift in gears…lol them like it so…
dominicans love hardship they embrace it highly because they are ignorant and can’t see the bigger picture.
why you think they took your UWP Regime out..haha
they love the whips on their backs..
UWP was too decent and outta box thinking for Dominicans..that kind of thought process bears fruits in places like st.lucia, barbados etc…
DA is a strange place…keep your heartbeat down please Prevy..your grassroot friend inna land ya!
Wow you people are so close minded you don’t even understand what he said. WOW boggles my mind when people can read and not understand !!!!!!!
In my opinion Prevost is so right. Just look at the supposed strategy the Meade woman came up with. Just three days to go and most likely the sales of tickets were so poor that they decided to let the first night be “Dominica Night” yeah right. By the way we still don’t have the fifty dollars. Here on DNO the price is fifty dollars she was on DBS Radio this morning stating it was sixty dollars. Some strategy this is. If your basic strategy hasn’t been pulling in the ponters from last year it ain’t working Mrs Meade. Offcourse it would be well noted that the government may have footed the balance of the lost funds from the so called red clinic. It still there even if you not hearing about it. So all in all they will come after the three nights and say it was a success. When the locals get paid then it is a success. The artists are covered and probably paid already. The locals doing all the leg work want paying too. And it’s also probably because the money run out after paying the artists that you all decide you need to make up the extra to pay off the government loan.
” situation, as Dominica struggles with some very serious challenges in the tourism sector,” the Roseau MP said. ”
Norris, with all your good thoughts, there is something you have forgotten. No amount of advertising ” Dominica in Dominica ” as far as tourism is concern will change the serious challenges which you are talking about in regard to tourism. You mentioned some lime, what effect has their advertisement had on tourism internationally?
I’ve never heard the name Lime or what; mentioned simultaneously with Dominica anywhere out side of Dominica!
We can talk advertisement as much as we want; however, as long as we lack accommodation, such as class tourist resorts on the island, our chances to succeed in the industry, is slim to zero. It is my understanding that there are only six ( 600 ) hundred what they term in Dominica Hotel Rooms, how can the industry get any better when we seems to be able to accommodate only six hundred over-nighting visitors at any one time?
I said this many times before, and I am saying it again, the dependency on the seasonal arriving (few tourist ships) though a few dollars can be made by their arrival, anywhere in the world where we find plenty of money made from tourism derive from tourist vacationing for an extended period of between five or ten days.
As it stand right now if you do not even have a thousand rooms to accommodate a thousand people wishing to vacation on the island, no amount of advertisement you do exclusively in Dominica will not bring any significant change to the industry the it is.
And so, I ask where are our Tourist Resorts, where are our gulf courses, where is our international airport, where are the facilities such as toilets ect, to accommodate the tourist along the way if they so desire to take a sightseeing drive around the country.
You cant expect people to go into the bushes to relieve themselves!
If we are going to be successful in the tourist industry, our first option is an International Airport, along with that we may have to develop at least one Resort, to the standard of Sandals, or better, while endeavoring to attract and influence some major international operating hotelier to invest in a hotel in the country, and by that I am not talking about any fifty-room hotel.
It has to be approached and done in a big way, otherwise we will continue to be at the bottom of the lather scraping the bottom of the barrel!
If you do not read it here my friend, read it in your E-mail later.
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
Francisco I agree with your analogy. There is also one underlying factor that is ; a blatantly corrupt environment dissuades investors.
I fully agree with Francisco Telemaque. Mr. Prevost, you need to emancipate yourself from small town politics. I have never heard of LIME during all the previous years I have followed events in Dominica.
1. Mr. Prevost Dominica need to get its infrastructure or prerequisites in good order to attract tourism on a global scale to the island.
2. The government need to embark on a global marketing/advertising campaign similar to other islands like Barbados, St. Lucia & Jamaica.
3. Government must put robust systems in place to attract foreign investors to the islands.
4. The government must display greater vision and utilise the island’s natural resources to an international market. Etc, Etc.
Dominica is rightly named as the “The Nature Island of the Caribbean” yet we have politicians who seem clueless to as to what is required to maximise the island’s potential.
These so called politicians need to free their minds of small time politics and move on with the modern times.
Sandals? … Did you not notice? we do NOT have white beaches. This is not that type of destination.
DA is an adventure travel destination. Millions love that. What is the problem? These visitors are tourist gold for small countries. They eat local, they stay local, they use local guides, they spend local. They love what we ALREADY have. Yet we all talk about Sandals and Itl airports etc. No wonder we are in a mess. There is not actual need for that mess. Costa Rica is our main competitor. Look at that place … small hotels everywhere, local restaurants doing well, Eco central. Who ever loves there would love here.
No need to convince them.
Best thing I have read on DNO!!! Finally a kindred spririt re: Dominica tourism!!!
Many of the children of the diaspora have a reasonable income and may not have considered real estate investment in Dominica. We certainly tried but were astonished at the high prices of land when compared to St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincient, St Kitts. We settlers on a different island but would have preference to build on Dominica. I wonder to what extent our experience has been replicated and just how much revenue the island is loosing – from is alone – it is significant as real estate maintenance and associated services is’nt cheap. So my people, think long and hard about incentives which will encourage a constant stream of inward investment from children off those who left Home in the 50s.
@Anonymous
You have a very good point here. It would be good if authorities would read and consider you input.
I personally know a few people who have invested their financial resource to be build guest houses in Dominica, if not a hotel.
In 2008 I saw one from a friend of mine who lived in the USA for a very long time. The guest house he built is like a large family home with all the necessities of living in a home–the area is in at Cane-field; even a swimming pool is built outside the house.
I can imagine that many others do the same thing. But as you mentioned–how often does the high price of land interferes with a person’s decision to established that plan in Dominica–the is the problem we need to consider.
I am seeing that it is much better to sell land at a lower price, if that would provoke development instead of having the land empty as we continue at the same level.
Who owns this high price land?
Land is very cheap in DA. Only the sea front is OVER priced. We got mountains. Buy that land … very cheap.
I thought our bread and butter generally, were divers and hikers?
I’m confused. Is Prevost talking about Creole Festival? in which case he seems right but from what I understand Dominica already burstng at the seams for those 3 days. What about the rest of the year? His consumer segments will not work the rest of the year.
What are his ideas for the entire year? 3 days do not pay the bills.
Yep, hiking, diving, wellness, other nature/outdoor activities. They are the country’s core products, right ? And they last all year rather than just a week. I think the man has lost touch with reality.
where is your suggestion? no amount of water will quench the thirst of a fool…
Larwi – I am not the one who is the politician. As the politician, Prevost is saying he has the ideas so vote for him. He is not asking us to vote for him because he does not have the ideas of how to develop Dominica. It’s not for me to have the ideas. It’s for him. It’s for me to demand the answers from him if he wants my vote.
Further he was Minister of Tourism so I expect him to be able to list pages of ideas of how to bring vistors to our shores all year long for years to come.
So calling me a fool is well uuhhmmm foolish.
I have always said so focus on Dominicans abroad, those far away and those in the islands nearby. make it easy and cheap to get them here. We need to do more.
I concur