Business View Caribbean | February 2020

3 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN FEBRUARY 2020 O p e n i n g L i n e s F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 T echnology giant Mastercard recently announced the launch of its Smart Islands program in the Caribbean, leading the journey towards developing smarter islands and cashless societies to strengthen economies throughout the region. “Innovation is in Mastercard’s DNA,” stated Jimena Elia, Director of Market Development for Mastercard Caribbean. “We are excited to reveal this multi-layered technology that can help expand the tourism industry’s earning potential and build the Caribbean’s resilience to natural disasters by developing smarter islands built on cashless societies.” The Smart Islands program is prime to reap significant gains for the region, most notably MASTERCARD LAUNCHES ITS SMART ISLANDS PROGRAM IN THE CARIBBEAN within the tourism industry, an essential economic driver. Tourism accounts for nearly 15% of the Caribbean’s GDP; and over 50% on many islands. The region attracts 57 million visitors each year and directly and indirectly provides more than 2.3 million jobs. The data and tourism insights that the Mastercard Smart Islands program provides can help Governments and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) define a country’s ideal tourist, enabling more efficient marketing investments with higher ROI. Mastercard can help Governments smartly leverage data analytics to: • Enable DMOs by leading with tourism insights