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Bridgetown, Barbados :
The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID) has officially launched the Industry Standards for Spa and Wellness Entities in CARIFORUM Territories and the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Sector Strategy 2014-2018 for the region.
During the month of August Caribbean Export has conducted the Spa & Wellness Strategy road show which has taken the team to Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and finally Barbados where they have announced the implementation plan for the Development and Promotion of Caribbean Health and Wellness Tourism Sector, a project funded by CDB under the Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTfund) Programme, with financing from UK-AID that will benefit the wider Caribbean.
“The Health and Wellness Sector is considered a specialized sector within tourism and in our view presents an opportunity for diversifying the tourism product offering across the wider Caribbean region” commented Executive Director of Caribbean Export, Pamela Coke-Hamilton at the opening of the launch event held at the Radisson Aquatic Resort, Barbados on August 28, 2013.
As part of the road show Caribbean Export in conjunction with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), conducted a workshop for Spa & Wellness practitioners and stakeholders that coversed three main components of the project topics; Strategic Development, Marketing and Brand Development, and Standards and Quality DevelopmentDG. “It is imperative for the growth of the Spa and Wellness Tourism sector here in Barbados and as a region that we secure endorsement from national policy makers and other stakeholders who can effect change to raise our standards and make the region more competitive internationally” stated David Gomez, Manager of Trade & Export Development at Caribbean Export at the recently held launch event in Barbados.
The Industry Standards for Spa and Wellness Entities in CARIFORUM Territories was developed with by the University of the West Indies withand Dr. Damien Cohall serving as the, Chief Consultant for the assignment, University of the West Indies Health and Wellness Standards Consultancy Team. He expressed, on behalf of the UWI Consultancy Team, their pleasure in being able to provide input to the Health and Wellness project and viewed that “the efforts to build this segment of the Caribbean’s tourism product has not maximised the region’s full potential”.
The growth of the health and wellness segment of the Caribbean tourism industry will inevitably lead to job creation and corresponding economic growth of the CARIFORUM countries. According to a recent Commonwealth Study the global Health and Wellness industry is a US$40 billion international market and is growing at 30% per annum, the study has also predicted export earnings of around US$175 million for the Caribbean.
“Health and wellness has been identified as one of the region’s growth sectors. The sector features a high percentage of women entrepreneurs and its products and services contribute directly to the health and wellbeing of its largely female client base” stated Ms. Valarie Pilgrim, Operations Officer, Caribbean Development Bank and importantly, “this Regional Spa & Wellness Sector Strategy is intended to be a working document. We are committed to not just the development of the strategy but more importantly – its implementation.
source: http://www.thebahamasweekly.com / TheBahamasWeekly.com / Home> News> International> Caribbean News / by Caribbean Export Development Agency / August 29th, 2013
