Hoteliers want more money pumped into marketing

ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC):

The Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association (DHTA) has called for more funds to be allocated for marketing Dominica's tourism sector but the government says the country cannot afford the added expenditure at this point.

The Ministry of Tourism spends about EC$5 million a year on marketing but the immediate past president of the DHTA Judith Pestaina said that much more can be done.

"For us to market the destination properly, we need to allocate much more resources," Pestaina told a recent news conference.

Pestaina wants Dominica to follow the lead of St Lucia which doubled the amount spent on destination marketing in recent years.

increase that budget

"Allen Chastenent (St Lucia tourism minister) persuaded the St Lucia Cabinet to increase that budget to EC$10 million or more. When you look at what is being allocated here to marketing, we really have a long way to go," the DHTA executive member told journalists.

Tourism Minister Ian Douglas said while he supports the call for more funding, Dominica does not have any more money to put into destination marketing.

"When you are selling a product a lot depends on advertising but while we say that we have to look at our economic reality. We are, in fact, coming out of an economic stabilisation period," the minister said.

He said while Dominica appears to have made significant economic progress, it cannot revert to the heavy spending of the past.

"Because we are out of the woods this is no reason for us to relax; we must remain vigilant about the management of our resources," Douglas said, adding that government is looking at creative, non-expensive ways to grow the sector.