Nevis is among five regional countries and a private company that have launched a new branding campaign in conjunction with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA).
Besides Nevis, the other “Charter Partners” are The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands and Sandals and Beaches Resorts.
According to a release, the aim is to raise awareness of the unique vacation experiences available to consumers, as well as the diversity of the destinations and facilities throughout the region, all linked with one identifiable Caribbean logo.
The creation of this new branding effort began in October 2005 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Chairman, Hon. Pamela C. Richards, and Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) President, Berthia Parle, followed by the formulation of plans under the dual direction of the CTO Secretary General and the Director General of CHA. Those plans have resulted in the creation of a “˜One Caribbean’ strategy for extending the Caribbean brand.
CTO Secretary General, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said: “Essentially, inclusion of the new Caribbean brand logo in all of the promotional and administrative material of both public and private sector members should catapult the Caribbean region to an unprecedented level of awareness and demonstrate a degree of cooperation and coordination that will be the envy of the tourism world.”
“We are confident that inclusion of the Caribbean logo will also enhance the value of individual hotel brands by proudly declaring their affiliation with the Caribbean,” said Alec Sanguinetti, CHA Director General and CEO.
He said there has been “a lot of interest in this branding initiative from our members and anticipate a wide acceptance and use throughout the Caribbean hotel industry.”
The first “˜Charter Partners’ were presented with a memento to mark the occasion.
The Caribbean and the membership of the CTO and CHA are a diverse collection of individual destinations, hotel chains and independent resorts.
“Many of our members are too small to effectively market their destinations or hotels in the worldwide arena,” said Vanderpool-Wallace, adding, “But the Caribbean as a region is very well known around the world. In fact, it is probably better known globally than most of its constituent islands. This leads us to an inescapable conclusion and an unprecedented opportunity. In the past we described the Caribbean as the world’s best known, unowned brand. Today the brand has an owner.”