Hon. Harold Lovell, Minister of Tourism was a panellist at the George Washington University Masterclass at the Caribbean Tourism Conference View photo »

With a strong history in events management, Antigua and Barbuda was highlighted amongst the Caribbean islands utilising events to promote awareness of the destination.

The Hon. Harold Lovell, Minister of Tourism was a panellist at the George Washington University Masterclass at the Caribbean Tourism Conference entitled "Models and Myths of Event Management: Sharing the Knowledge".

Along with other industry experts Roddy Carr, Vice President and Director of Tourism for IMG Consulting and Dr. Lisa Delpy Neirotti, Associate Professor and Director of the prestigious post-graduate Masters Degree in Tourism Administration and Sports Management Programmes at George Washington University, the panel discussed the fundamentals of events management. Topics covered included the normal establishment period for an event, the required return on investment and appropriate measurement tools, and the opportunity cost compared to investing funds in other marketing activities.

A practical and lively session, hundreds of participants of the seminar were provided with real life issues such as the likelihood of events attracting full sponsorship; the need to be creative in utilising even limited facilities for staging smaller yet popular events; and a realistic assessment of the overall impact on the economy.

Overall, the importance of a clear objective for the hosting of events was viewed as critical with certain criteria important in the evaluation including a resultant significant increase in incremental visitors, an overall extension in average stay by visitors and increase in average visitor spending, and extension in the high season.

Minister Lovell relayed the experience of Antigua and Barbuda in the staging of Antigua Sailing Week, Carnival and Test Cricket and the upcoming Cricket World Cup. "Antigua and Barbuda has been extremely successful in packaging a unique experience beyond the actual dynamics of the event. This fits well into the growing demand for "experience tourism" particularly in the United States."

Emphasis was placed on the need for scientific analysis of the benefits of various events by Dr. Neirotti, with destinations being encouraged to focus on small non televised events which may drive traffic, increase net visitor spending in the economy and generally improve the strategic image of the destination without placing a major financial, human resource and logistical burden on the host venue.

For major sporting events such as Cricket World Cup, Roddy Carr drew comparisons with the Olympic Games held in Greece in 2004 and Barcelona in 1992. Important in the overall success of such mega events is the general improvement in service delivery and infrastructure and ultimate enhancement in national pride as a result of the event. A plan for the lead up, during and the eighteen month window of opportunity after the mega event for enhanced awareness of the destination was deemed critical in capitalising on potential increases in tourist arrivals as a result of the event.

Sports Tourism was cited as the fastest growing component of the hospitality industry, with Antigua and Barbuda's establishment of a Sports Tourism Alliance cited as visionary and the right approach in ensuring substantial benefits and additional marketing opportunities. The need to list a wide range of sporting events on the tourism calendar of events was identified as a way to increase the attractiveness of a country as a lively and interesting vacation destination.

The comprehensive session outlined a wide range of events with the new approach of staging indigenous events in the target markets recognised as achieving the overall objective of increasing awareness of the destination. Again, Antigua and Barbuda's approach in the US market was endorsed by the leading industry experts and was heralded as inventive in anticipating this new trend with major impact resulting in the events staged by the country at the New York Triathlon, CTO Caribbean Week and the upcoming signature sponsorship of the IMG New York City Marathon scheduled for November 6, 2005, which will be televised in 125 countries worldwide.