Surviving "Survivorman" :o)

After publishing the Economic Recovery Plan for Grenada's Hotel Sector, I felt compelled to offer more than a paper with a to-do list for the sector's survival - so I sought to solve the one of three of the #1 problems identified in my report: Marketing.

Grenada's got a GREAT tourism product, but not enough resources to bring that product to 'market'. How many people know how special Grenada is? That our underwater park was listed as one of the wonders of the world, alongside Victoria Falls and so on? Or that National Geographic rated Grenada as one of the top ten places in the world to visit?

Answer: Not enough.

So.....making a long story short, with the blessings of Grenada's Tourism Minister, I approached the Survivorman production crew to come to Grenada....and now they're here! I'm working as a support for them for all the on-the-ground logistics which, I've discovered is what a "Fixer" does. Sweet! Fits me like an old shirt.

In the middle of it all right now - feels like full time madness right now - but of the greatest kind!

Why?

Because I firmly believe that the people who like Survivorman, are the kind of people who will appreciate the unspoiled characteristics Grenada has to offer. I also believe that profiling Grenada this way (rather than through traditional marketing) builds a stronger relationship with Grenada's potential market - the kind of relationship that will bring quality visitors to our shores, because we don't want to be a mass tourism destination.

Below is a video of how Les Stroud's adventure began just a couple of days ago. Naturally, his problems were over once he stepped his foot on Grenada's soil **wink**

Grenada Mourns as Chocolate Factory Founder Dies

In a small island culture like Grenada, very few foreigners successfully integrate with the village tapestry and become an integral part of lives joined by centuries of family ties, village history, and stories shared from the cradle to the grave. But Mott did that and more. He became 'one of us'; he inspired us; and there could be no one more deserving of a state funeral than he. I hope he gets one. Though Mott would probably say that would not be something he'd want to partake in (dead or alive).

Mott built more than a chocolate factory. He built a movement that demonstrated that fair trade was more than a logo, that sustainability was more than marketing (solar powered production), and he even showed us all that carbon-free shipping (as was done in the days of yonder) is not only profitable, it's uber-cool.

The video below says it all, posted on Mott's blog this week.
Rest in Peace Mott - because you did it all right - your inspiration will live on!

True Blue Bay Resort Ranked #3 in Caribbean Best Small Hotels

Boutique hotels are all the craze now: A logical shift in a tourism market with increasingly 'experienced' travelers, confident enough to branch out from the all-inclusive holiday packages. As a result, boutique hotels are popping up everywhere, and the competition is fierce.

Grenadian hoteliers Russ and Magdalena Fielden are delighted to learn that their hotel was selected, and ranked #3 in the top ten Best Small Hotels of the Caribbean list published by Caribbean Journal. Added to their 2012 certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor, it shows they're on the right track. Following the publication of this accolade, the first thing the owners did was pass the compliment on to their employees, encouraging them to keep up the good work - which isn't a surprise since of the reasons the hotel was selected was, according to Caribbean Journal because, "The owners just know how to run a hotel - in the hands of others, it probably wouldn't be the same".

The article can be seen here:

http://www.caribjournal.com/2013/05/15/the-caribbeans-best-small-hotels-2013/3/

GHTA Hosts "Farm to Table" Cocktail Event at the Calabash Hotel

The Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association will be holding a social cocktail event at the Bash Bar by Mark B, Calabash Hotel 6 – 7.30 pm on Friday 10 May 2013. The theme of the event will be Farm-to-Table Tourism and is expected to show the linkage between Tourism and Agriculture.

The Prime Minister, Ministers of Government, farmers and persons in the fishing industry have been invited and have been asked to say a few words re the importance of the synergies between agriculture and tourism using statistics or ongoing success stories to highlight their points. They have also been invited to indicate any initiative or opportunities that will/could be undertaken to improve the linkages between agriculture and tourism, increase production of quality produce, or increase demand.

Executive Chef, Mark Banthorpe will speak on things unique about the fruits and vegetables, fish and meats produced in Grenada and the amount of local produce purchased directly from farmers and fishermen.

Tickets to the event are available for purchase by members at the GHTA office at a cost of EC $40. Please note that tickets must be paid for upon collection at the office and only persons with tickets will be allowed into the event.

Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association Thanks Ethical Ideas

GHTA Newsletter, May 2013 - "The Economic Recovery Plan, for which the GHTA received funding from the Government of Canada, was completed at the end of March. A copy was handed over to the Prime Minister at his first quarterly meeting with the Grenada Private Sector Organization in April. Copies have also been handed to the Minister of Tourism and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism. Electronic copies have been e-mailed to members and will be posted on the members section of the Association’s Corporate Website.

The GHTA is grateful to the Government of Canada who funding made this document possible and to consultant Jennifer Alexis of Ethical Ideas for the hard work she put into completing the document in a very limited time frame.

The document will be used as a core communications tool with Government, stakeholders, and agencies, which would harmonize the efforts of all stake holders approaches to economic recovery in Grenada, in an informed and focused way".

Ethical Ideas Raises another million for clients

Ethical Ideas is pleased to announce that a grant funding request to Compete Caribbean has ascended to the next level of consideration with a USD $50,000 grant to prepare a Cluster Competitiveness Improvement Plan (CCIP). The plan, when completed, will be presented to an investment panel to obtain up to USD $500,000 for implementation. The successful application was predicated upon a grant proposal to implement the Hotel Sector Economic Recovery Plan funded by the Canadian Government and drafted by Ethical Ideas.

In addition, Ethical Ideas has recently learned that another Caribbean Fund is in the final stages of approval (awaiting Board Signature) with a value of USD $300,000. This grant is particularly valuable to the hotel sector, because it involves grant funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy investments. This kind of pragmatic, results oriented investment is rare from donors, who generally prefer to spin wheels with consultants rather than investing money on tangible change making activities. You can rest assured that when this fund is officially launched - I will be posting and raving about this donor!

Combined, the value of these two grants will be in excess of XCD $2 million with even more funds expected that are still in the early stages of the approval process. By the time all the grants come in, the Hotel Sector should have access to XCD $10 million to support economic recovery and energy use reduction.

The best news of all is of course that Grenada's hotel sector is one step closer to their zero carbon goal, and that this environmental solution is directly linked to economic prosperity. The Hotel Sector will be ending this great week with a cocktail party that brings stakeholders from tourism and agriculture together to strengthen the links between the two sectors. Sustainable initiatives that are just 'happening' more than being initiated are so thrilling!

Inconvenient Truths Key for Planning Island Economies Future

North Korea is rattling nuclear sabres; Canada has pulled out of a major UN convention to combat land degradation; the Sea Shepherd Society have been named pirates by a US court; dolphin safe tuna is considered a trade barrier; and yet another strain of bird flu is causing human deaths and forcing the massacre of thousands of birds.

Sounds biblical - if you believe in that kind of thing. But I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that defers my personal responsibilities to God [insert your deity of choice here]. God will do God’s job, I will do mine.

In the eyes of a sustainable development expert, it signals what happens population pressures clash with environmental capacity. No species is immune to its dependency on the environment that supports it. So how does this seemingly esoteric thought lead us back to the realities of development on a small island state?

There are several ways:

I would posit that all the small island states should be structuring their economies in keeping with global trends such as regionalism and market diversification; just enough to keep up with the pack, so to speak. Since you don’t want to pull the plug on what is before you know what you’re heading into. But I would also hazard that any economic planning that is going to carry small island economies into the future must prepare for the CUT OFF.

Imported: Food, medicine, clothing, building supplies, water, seeds, fertilizers, energy, transportation, technology….access to shipping, air travel, free movement of people…

The industrial honeymoon is over and the disturbing world trends mentioned above are only a two week snapshot of headlines.  Anyone that tries to move into the future with a business-as-usual approach will be planning for social, economic and environmental failure.

So what is required to plan for a future unknown to us that balanced between the optimism needed for socioeconomic prosperity and the realism needed for survival? A great place to start would be to recognize the inconvenient truths (Thanks for the phrase, Al, it’s really applicable to so many things!) around us, and then to turn those truths into opportunities before they kick us in our collective ass.

Regardless of why, our climate is changing. So whatever we plan to do our economies it had better be packaged with a high degree of resiliency.  Building codes need to reflect the realities to come, land use planning needs to prioritize food and water first – as a long term profit plan rather than a short term one.

Regardless of why it is happening (psst hint: population pressure, mad scientists, dozy doctors), we are have an ever increasing vulnerability to disease. So whatever we plan had better take this into consideration such as our concepts of productivity, the length of a work week,  sick leave, survivor benefits – and not just quarantine procedures.

We need innovators, not followers. Education needs to generate the intellectual capacity for effective systems management in a small island state so that prosperity can be achieved within our domestic and regional means. The Caribbean follow-the-leader teaching methods need to be expunged from our educational culture as quickly as possible.

And we have to be prepared for the likelihood of a large-scale war as the squeeze between population and resources continues to climb. This means ensuring we have developed core capacities in medicine, science, engineering, agriculture and energy. If we train good doctors but leave ourselves reliant on pharmacological trade cut off by a world war, that’d suck. Ask anyone who’s lived through a cholera epidemic how ‘crappy’ it is to have large scale death for people who can’t access drugs that can cure them. And the argument can be made over and over for all the systems that support the lifestyles we live now.

One very bright lining to this rather troublesome train of thought is that Island people are far more resilient that your average city dweller. We still know how to build our homes, grow things, fix things and do things that a few generations of city dwellers have long forgotten.

Island people are survivors.

Look at Cuba as an example – they may not have an automotive engineering industry, but they sure have succeeded in keeping cars on the road long past their shelf life. Grenadians rebuilt an entire country in three years after 90% of the country’s infrastructure was leveled by Hurricane Ivan. Go there now and you’d never know the event occurred as recently as 2004. And Haitians who have every reason in the world to throw up their arms and give up, defy the obstacles in their way and keep forging ahead.

In many ways, we’re better positioned to ride out the future than most countries in the world, but our success in doing so will depend greatly on our foresight and whether we take inconvenient truths into consideration when governing our countries and planning our economic future.  For now, we need to invest in tourism, create jobs, reduce our debt and keep our island safe. But, while we’re doing that, we must plan to achieve food security, energy security, water security and social security as successes defined by our ability to meet these needs without outside help. If any of our Islands in the Region are able to achieve this in the next ten years – our future will be bright indeed.