Business View Caribbean - December 2015 93
more, getting into those small corporate meetings and
resorts, that’s what we can bring to the table. I think
it’s restaurants and the culinary segment that’s really
going to take us to the next level.
BV: Are there certain issues that are on the minds of
the members? Obviously, coming out of the reces-
sion and getting themselves back to stability are
huge for the ones that have made it through, but are
there any other things that are pressing issues to
the group as a whole?
VASSER:
As you can imagine, 33 different countries,
there are 33 major issues facing all of them. Collec-
tively, energy costs are a huge issue that we need to
face as a region. You think about individual islands,
what it costs to generate electricity, water. A lot of
the infrastructure that we take for granted here in
the mainland U.S. with the grid system – they don’t
have that there. They don’t have the critical mass that
drives energy costs down. The cost per kilowatt-hour
there is significantly different than what you would pay
here on the mainland. So energy costs are a huge is-
sue. Airlift is a huge issue – we need to bring more air
service, supply, into the islands and it’s not just from
the U.S. or from Latin America, but inter-island flights
as well. There’s a great opportunity for us, especially
in the off-season when someone from New York isn’t
flying into St. Lucia, to make it easier for someone from
one island to pop over to another one, without having
to go through Miami or San Juan first. I think that’s a
huge part.
And the last part is sustainability. Everybody knows
that sea levels are rising and we need to make sure
that the footprint of the individual islands, and the re-
sorts, and the impact that we’re having on our com-
munities, that we’re going to have something for the
future generations. Everybody’s concerned about
sustainability, everybody’s concerned about their op-
erating costs, especially energy and airlift. I would say
those are the three big ones.
BV: Are there certain destinations that you feel are
going to be a lot more high profile a few years from
now? A lot more popular than they are now? What
are some of the emerging places that you’re starting
to see more traffic?
VASSER:
From one angle, development, you’re seeing
a huge amount of new development in St. Kitts and
Nevis, but Sandals and their group are building proper-
ties all over the region. I think everybody has taken this
opportunity to reinvest in their product, and I think the
governments are very attuned to making development
easier throughout the islands. What we need to do is
make sure supply doesn’t exceed demand. From my
point of view, what do we need to do to make the Carib-
bean more accessible from these emerging markets?
