Successful Meetings - January 2009 - (Page 48)

Meeting Source in Breckenridge, CO, says he had one client, a church group, move its meeting stateside after encountering trouble booking flights to the Caribbean. “[My client] was trying to schedule a meeting for this month in the Bahamas,” Collins said in November. “We were doing site selection research last winter and spring, but I could not find any airlines willing to quote me a group airfare for November—in their eyes it was still too far out. Because we could not get a confirmed airfare to allow them to prepare their budget, they ended up booking Daufuskie Island Resort in South Carolina instead.” some tweaks, including Delta Air Lines adjusting a flight into St. Thomas from Atlanta an hour later to allow for travelers from Copenhagen and other European destinations to make the connection. Neighboring destinations have not been so fortunate. Based on data from OAGback Aviation Solutions, the hardest hit Caribbean destinations, measured by comparing scheduled seats for March of 2009 to March of 2007, are Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic. All three have seen capacity drop by double-digit percentages. “In the last six months of 2008, we lost three key flights from JFK,” says percent this March compared to two years ago, according to OAGback. Fading Red Tape When the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative first began requiring Americans to carry a passport for travel to the Caribbean, meetings destinations there lost a competitive differentiator over Latin America. But the problems seem to have faded. The number of U.S. passports issued in 2007 went up about 50 percent over 2006, to 18.4 million, according to the U.S. State Department. In 2008, it went down to 16.2 million; although still higher than the 12.1 million issued in 2006, much of the red tape surrounding passport acquisition has minimized. Blue Skies or Silver Lining? Even with the challenges the Caribbean region is facing in attracting visitors, development continues. Last January, the 428-room Hyatt Regency Trinidad opened in Port of Spain as Trinidad and Tobago’s first major meetings property. The Dominican Republic’s development, slowed by Hurricane Gustav in August, is seeing dramatic growth in high-end, meetings-ready properties. The Ritz-Carlton, Cap Cana is scheduled to open in 2010, construction is underway on Trump at Cap Cana, and Four Seasons announced a year ago that it will open a property in Santo Domingo. In the Bahamas, already a big meetings destination, the opening of the $2 billion Baha Mar project in 2012 in Nassau will bring a Caesars Resort Hotel Casino, as well as Sheraton, St. Regis, W, Westin, and Wyndham. “Meetings are important because groups move the needle fastest,” CTO leader Riley says. “Corporate groups travel with the philosophy that the destination and the client must deliver an experience the individual cannot duplicate. You know that out of that experience will come stories that everyone is proud to tell about your destination.” SM ST. THOMAS While some destinations struggle with airlift, flights to St. Thomas are up 8 percent this March, over last year It was that kind of story that Nicholson-Doty and her USVI colleagues sought to avoid when they lobbied individual airlines late summer. “We went and collected statistical data, looked at key hubs, targeted specific airlines,” Nicholson-Doty says of the destination’s efforts to keep up service to its airports. “We came to the table saying, ‘How can we work together to grow and sustain our business?’ ” The talks with airlines led to key routes, such as US Airways’ Charlotte and Philadelphia flights, being retained. The USVI’s research also gave rise to Rob Smith, president and CEO of the Aruba Tourism Authority. But in some cases, where major U.S.-based airlines are cutting back, smaller or international competitors are swooping in. JetBlue now serves 11 Caribbean destinations; Spirit Airlines and Delta Air Lines have also upped their Caribbean capacity. In the case of Aruba, the flights the island lost have already been made up, according to Smith: “It has all been restored through other partners,” he says. “We just added four flights a week through Panama on Copa Airlines.” Flight capacity to Aruba will be up 11 48 I SM I January 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

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