BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, September 26th, 2011 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Sen. the Hon. Richard Skerritt, said the region is looking at ways of enriching visitors’ experiences, from teaching about the origin of spices in preparing food to the types of beats in music.
Speaking in Halifax, Canada, Minister Skerritt said the allure of sun and sand serves the Caribbean well in attracting millions of visitors each year, but the region wants to add its culture to the list of reasons people should visit.
"We’re trying to get our own people and our visitors to learn more about what really makes the Caribbean the Caribbean, . . . that marries our nature, our culture and our history," said Skerritt, who serves as chairman of the 33-member Caribbean Tourism Organization.
He said 24 million visitors came to the region last year but annual growth is a marginal one per cent.
Skerritt is one of about 360 delegates from at least 15 countries who attended the Seventh Annual African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference in Halifax.
David Jackson reports that it’s the first time the event has been held in Nova Scotia.
He says Skerritt said he came to the conference because he wanted to learn more about the African experience but also because he wanted to bring a message that other regions of the world can use their history and culture to their benefit.
“They are business opportunities,” he said. “They are opportunities to convert this wealth of the African experience and the knowledge and the documentation of it and interpret and present it in ways within the demands of tourism in a commercial way that can benefit in our countries and enhance the experience of our visitors.”
The conference started in Bermuda as an effort to explore ways of promoting travel to significant sites “identified as relevant and important to the global narrative of people and culture of African descent,” says the conference website.
African-Nova Scotian Affairs Minister Percy Paris said it’s a great chance to promote the province, which has about 50 black communities.
“This is going to open up so many opportunities for Nova Scotians, not just from a tourism perspective but also from an academia perspective,” he said.
“There’s so much expertise and knowledge here at this conference. The networking that’s going on today and the connections that people are making that’s going to (serve) them well into the future is just incredible. My palms get wet just thinking about it.”
Patrice Minors, Bermuda’s Minister of Business Development and Tourism, said the goal of the conference is to promote the heritage trail.
“I think it will bring a wealth of attention to those destinations that are part of that trail”
The conference which wrapped up Sunday with the opening of the Africville Seaview Church Museum.
The province has contributed about $150,000 to the conference, including some in-kind support. That’s about half the conference’s budget.
On Friday, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency announced $88,445 in funding to support Black cultural tourism. The money went into the newly renovated Black Cultural Centre in Cherry Brook, and the International African Village Bazaar, being held this weekend on the Halifax waterfront.
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
