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TOURISM UPDATE
Quarterly Newsletter of the Discover Dominica Authority Issue 35, August, 2018
DOMINICA FILM CHALLENGE
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WELCOME & TABLE OF CONTENTS Dear Partners,
COLIN PIPER
CEO/Director of Tourism Photo Credit: DDA Image Library
WELCOME ............................................... 1
DEVELOPING THE TOURISM PRODUCT
Enhancing Tour Packages for Voluntourism Workshop ........................ 2
Delivering Quality Service Training.. 2-3
Climate Sensitization & Disaster Risk Management Training ............................ 4
Transforming Tourism Supply
Value Chains Project .............................. 4
Recycling Dominica’s Plastic Waste into Consumable Products ....................... 5-6
2018 OECS Cycling Championships ..... 7
Upcoming Trainings ............................... 8
DESTINATION MARKETING
Tourism Summit 2018 ........................... 9 Dominica Film Challenge 2018 .......... 10
Destination Sales Calls to the Caribbean Region................................. 10
Travel Agent/Tour
Operator Outreach............................... 10
ReDiscover Dominica
Staycation 2018................................10-11
Press and Familiarization Trips.... 11-12
TRADE SHOW REPORTS
CTO Caribbean Week
New York 2018....................................... 13
interCaribbean Airways Travel Agent Update Forum ....................................... 13
CRUISE
FCCA Environmental
Poster Competition .............................. 14
Carnival Cruise Line Resumes Summer Calls to Dominica ............14-15
EVENTS & FESTIVALS
WCMF 2018 Launched ......................... 16
LOOKING AHEAD
WCMF 2018............................................ 17 DDA CONTACTS & NEWS.................... 18
On July 10, 2018, Dominica celebrated the long-awaited return of Carnival Cruise Line to its shores. The MV Carnival Fascination sailed into the island’s capital, Roseau, bringing 2,669 cruise passengers. The ship will make fortnightly calls to the island. Much work was undertaken by the Government including rehabilitating the sites, and generally, getting Destination Dominica prepared.
Working in the tourism industry involves continually improving the quality of service to visitors. As such, DDA hosted two two-day workshops on “Delivering Quality Service,” targeting craft and souvenir vendors, hair braiders and tourism taxi service providers. DDA also partnered with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and other development partners, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to host a two-day Stakeholder Consultation and Training Workshop on Climate Sensitization and Disaster Risk Management.
The development of the various niches continued as assistance was provided to different organizations. DDA committed to the rehabilitation works of segment 4 of the Waitukubuli National Trail, the third annual Summer Youth Basketball Training Program, Dive Fest 2018, the 2018 OECS Cycling Championships and ‘Oh Maria’ Workshop, which will feature stories of survivors of Hurricane Maria converted into monologues, and then into lyrics for songs arranged for performance by the workshop participants themselves.
Also highlighted within is the successfully hosted Tourism Summit which provided an opportunity for information sharing and networking with the marketing agencies from the various source markets and key stakeholders in the industry, sales calls to the Caribbean market, success in the FCCA Poster Competition and Anichi Development’s participation in cleaning up our environment.
As the summer vacation continues, DDA reminds residents to take advantage of the attractive rates offered in this year’s Staycation promotion. Plans are also in high gear for Dominica’s 40th Independence celebration and the 20th edition of Dominica’s World Creole Music Festival.
We thank all stakeholders and partners for their invaluable contributions as we rebuild the industry. We look forward to the ongoing positive developments in the industry.
Yours in tourism development,
COLIN PIPER
CEO/Director of Tourism - Discover Dominica Authority
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Lilia Samuel of Tamarind Tree Hotel receives certi cate from Minister Tonge
Photo Credit: DDA Image Library
DDA Hosts Three-Day ‘Enhancing Tourism Packages for Voluntourism’ Workshop
Odile Jno Baptiste, Quality Assurance Of cer, DDA
Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) hosted a three- day ‘Enhancing Tour Packages for Voluntourism’ workshop from June 25 - 27, 2018. Twenty- ve
(25) Tour Operators, Dive Operators, Hoteliers and representatives from various Community Tourism Associations participated in the workshop. The workshop sought to equip service providers in:
• Fundamentals of tour packaging
• Technical approach of packaging
• Creating a package that is people and market oriented
• Pricing/costing to ensure all elements including possible commissions are included in the overall costing
• The Voluntourism Concept
The workshop was facilitated by Barbadian training facilitator, Joan Leacock. Ms. Leacock is a highly motivated, experienced trainer and educator, with
over thirty years of commercial experience in various aspects of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, including educational and vocational experience in
the areas of customer service, event management, training and development, tourism education, business management and quality assurance.
Following the events of Hurricane Maria, DDA was forced to review its strategy in tourism development and pursue new forms of tourism, such as voluntourism. Consequently, over the past months, the Authority has undertaken initiatives to strengthen the development and build the capacity of relevant public and private sector persons and organizations involved in voluntourism.
DDA understands that effective training and development interventions must therefore address the requirements of tour packages to be their best,
in how they are built, and the necessary packages to meet the safe needs of the voluntourism concept. At the same time, given the demands of an increasingly sophisticated guest/customer relationship, it is critical to establish and train all service providers to fully understand delivery standards, as well as monitoring their implementation.
Delivering Quality Service Training
Odile Jno Baptiste, Quality Assurance Of cer, DDA
Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) recognizes the role of taxi operators/drivers, craft and souvenir vendors and hair braiders in offering a quality experience to visitors in the destination. It is therefore necessary for these service providers to understand the importance of their jobs, who their customers are, the customers’ needs and expectations, and ways in which to develop positive customer contact resulting in satis ed visitors.
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Delivering Quality Service Workshop in Progress
Photo Credit: DDA Image Library
As such, Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) hosted
2 - two day workshops on “Delivering Quality Service” from Monday, July 16, 2018 - Thursday, July 19, 2018. A total of fty- ve (55) Craft and Souvenir Vendors, Hair Braiders and Tourism Taxi Service Providers participated in these workshops at the Prevost Cinemall. The objectives of the training were to:
• Understand the importance of their jobs in visitor satisfaction
• Improve people relations through the utilization of effective communication
• Understand how positive visitor interactions result in satis ed visitors
The workshop was facilitated by Caribbean
Tourism Organization’s Regional Human Resource Development Consultant, Sharon Ban eld- Bovell. Mrs. Ban eld-Bovell has been passionately contributing to the development of tourism and human resources in the Caribbean region for approximately 18 years. In her capacity as Regional Human Resource Development Consultant, she is primarily responsible for training and professional development for the organization’s membership as well as the day-to-day management of the organization’s Hospitality Assured Caribbean Certi cation programme.
DDA anticipates that participants will apply the
knowledge gained into their respective elds in order
to improve the quality of service delivered to visitors.
DDA will continue its commitment to the development
of the tourism human resources as excellent customer
service impacts positively on guests’ experiences.
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Climate Sensitization & Disaster Risk Management Training
Odile Jno Baptiste, Quality Assurance Of cer, DDA
As Dominica is vulnerable to the effects of climate change and disasters, the topics of risk mitigation and disaster preparedness are pertinent. It is
on this premise that in July, Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) partnered with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to host a Climate Sensitization and Disaster Risk Management Stakeholder Consultation and Training Workshop.
Strategic planning expert, Dr. Jennifer Edwards, facilitated the sessions targeting key tourism decision- makers and ancillary service providers. The two-day consultation and workshop was aimed at facilitating the sharing of knowledge and best practices on strategies related to climate mitigation and adaptation, as well as identifying sound disaster risk management approaches. Twenty-eight tourism practitioners and decision-makers from the public and private sectors participated in the event.
In light of the current and future impacts of climate variability and climate change, DDA recognizes that it is imperative that Dominica is equipped to prepare for, respond and recover during time of crisis.
Dominica Participates in 2nd Workshop for Transforming Tourism Supply Value Chains Project Daphne Vidal, Project Of cer, DDA
Dominica was represented at the second workshop
for the Transforming Tourism Supply Value Chains Project in St. Lucia from June 19-20, 2018. The project is being piloted in St. Lucia and it is anticipated that
the results will be bene cial to other OECS countries. The project seeks to gather information on ways in which tourism service providers in the accommodation sector can reduce their carbon emissions and improve resource ef ciency. The project, which started in
2017, is expected to end in 2020. It is being funded by UN Environment, The Travel Foundation, the French Government, UNEP-DTU partnership, Waste and Resources Action Programme and Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Energy.
Other representatives at this workshop included participants from public and private sector organizations in St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Vincent &
the Grenadines and Grenada. During the workshop, participants were updated on the initial ndings of the assessment of St. Lucian hoteliers’ environmental practices. Updates were also provided on St.
Lucia’s policy decisions to reduce its greenhouse
gas emissions and the Caribbean Cooling Initiative (C-COOL) which promotes the use of climate-friendly cooling systems in hotels. The property manager of Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet in St. Lucia also proposed practical measures that hoteliers can adopt in reducing their energy bill. These include educating employees on ef cient energy use, use of solar power and energy ef cient appliances such as lights and air conditioning units. It is anticipated that the expertise of the Jade Mountain/Anse Chastanet property manager can be shared with Dominican hoteliers.
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Merlissa Evans from Anichi Development hauls the remains of an abandoned mattress from the beach
Recycling Dominica’s Plastic Waste into Consumable Products
Anichi Development
Dominicans are being encouraged to create sustainable business initiatives and reduce their dependence on imported building materials by converting the island’s waste material into new, consumable products.
Recycle Rebuild, an international non-pro t organisation known for helping countries ravaged by natural disasters create high-quality building materials from waste, has established a recycling plant in Portsmouth, transforming plastic trash into oor tiles and jewellery.
“Our goal is to create Dominica’s rst community powered recycling centre,” said Rory Thor Dickens of Recycle Rebuild. “We’re about creating opportunities from waste and realising the potential of all these things that we are throwing away. All that tarpaulin that was damaged and is coming off the roofs
has value.”
Dickens represented Recycle Rebuild at Women’s Dive Day and Beach Clean-up, an initiative organised by Our Salty Passports and supported by Wild Dominique and Anichi Development on July 21. He believes that the
constant importation of goods into Dominica is slowly running the country dry. “Everyone earns their money here and then sends it abroad because they need something brought in. I mean, that’s not fair. This is about keeping it all here.”
The Scottish native, who moved to Dominica after Hurricane Maria, believes that when provided with
the correct mould, Dominicans can produce anything made from plastic on island. In fact, the very machines used by Recycle Rebuild to currently convert waste plastics into consumable goods were built entirely from trash collected at Dominica’s land ll.
Today, the machines housed at Hotel the Champs
in Portsmouth are used to create marble-looking
oor tiles and handcrafted jewellery sold in the local market. The production process explained by Dickens appears straightforward. Coloured plastic waste items, such as forks, cups, and bottles are collected from beaches and other places then shredded together before being placed in the injection machine. Once in the machine, the material is melted by high heat and emptied into a desired mould to create the product
of choice.
In a bid to expand its operations, the non-pro t organisation is building a few more machines capable of creating beams and other larger objects, and focusing on moving the plant into a more centralised
Dickens collects the molten plastic in the tile mould
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area. “In the next two months or so, we honestly think that we may have a space in the centre of Portsmouth where we can employ local people to work on crafts and also produce more important things,”
Dickens said.
Participants at the event were given the opportunity to witness the end-to-end process of converting plastics, such as cutlery, into oor tiles. They also learned about the harmful effects of carelessly burning plastics. The experience is one which Kayla Rognlie, founder of Our Salty Passports, believes was necessary to teach people rst-hand how easily trash can be turned into beautiful, new products that offer them a sense of pride and accomplishment. The certi ed dive instructor, who has been hosting beach clean-ups in Dominica, has personally witnessed the harmful effects of plastics to marine life in the ocean and the environment.
With Recycle Rebuild involved, “we can make our clean-ups a closed loop, which means that every underwater clean-up, every dive against debris, every beach clean-up we do, we take all of those recyclable plastics, anything that isn’t contaminated by salt, or oil or anything like that and we are able to recycle them. It’s been a huge community-building opportunity,” Rognlie said.
The excess trash collected on Picard Beach during the day’s clean-up was sorted and later moved by Anichi Development to the land ll. The company, whose
staff participated in the day’s activities, applauds the initiative by Our Salty Passports, and the opportunity it provided locals to explore alternative ways of creating sustainable employment.
“Recycling and repurposing Dominica’s waste plastics strengthens the island’s resilience and creates new alternative forms of employment for Dominicans.
It’s an initiative with tremendous socio-economic potential and one that also bene ts Dominica’s tourism product,” said Nisha McIntyre, the company’s marketing manager.
“We couldn’t turn down the opportunity to sponsor and support the initiative.”
Recycle Rebuild continues to look for additional retail outlets through which it can readily sell the products it creates from Dominica’s recycled plastics.
Earrings made from recycled plastic forks
Photo Credits: Anichi Development
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Top Places: Emanuel Gayral (1st place), Andrew Norbert (winner) and Jhymes Bridges (2nd place)
2018 OECS Cycling Championships
Dominica Cycling Association
After hosting the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Cycling Championship in 2017, the President of the Caribbean Cycling Association (CCA), Mr. Trevor Bailey was very impressed with the level
of professionalism and detail in which the Dominica Cycling Association (DCA) handled the logistics of the event. He added that this is despite being such a young association, just one year in existence. Dominica was again being considered to host the 2018 OECS Cycling Championship.
After the passing of Hurricane Maria, the DCA was in doubt whether the 2018 Championship would come a oat. With much improved road systems, and a run through of the proposed route, it was con rmed that Dominica would host the 2018 Championship.
After much consideration, Sunday July 1, 2018 was the decided date of the Championship and the 60-mile route would be from Kato’s (Ma Boyd’s) Kubuli Beach Bar, Woodbridge Bay to the entrance of the Cabrits National Park, Portsmouth and back.
Training for the local cyclists included a series of races between January and June on varying routes. A ten-person team was selected to represent
Dominica and included Chester Letang, Kohath Baron, Bram Sanderson, Levi Baron, Hayden Mills, Kevon Boyd, Eddison Roudette, Benjamin Daniel, Enoch Telemacque (coach) and Ronald Charles (manager).
Over 40 people were hosted including of cial commissaries, timers and cyclists. Participating islands included Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, along with Martinique. The Dominican public was excited about the race with residents coming out to cheer the cyclists from the villages along the route and at the actual start/end of the race.
The race was ercely competed. St. Lucian Andrew Norbet emerged the overall winner with a time of 3:00:05:03, with Antigua and Barbuda coming in
at second and third places with Emanuel Gayral
and Jhymes Bridges with times of 3:00:43:03 and 3:01:13:91, respectively. Dominican Bram Sanderson emerged in the 8th position with a time of 3:08:23:35 and was the rst Dominican to cross the nish line.
The DCA thanks all the sponsors who contributed in one way or another to the successful hosting of the 2018 OECS Cycling Championship, especially major sponsors including the Government of Dominica, Discover Dominica Authority, FLOW (Dominica) Ltd, KAIRI FM, Fire and Ambulance Service and Dominica Police Force with special mention to the Dominica Ham Radio Association and the of cial liaison drivers and the executive members.
Cyclists at the start of the race
Photo Credits: Zaimis Olmos Visual Arts
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Upcoming Training
The following are upcoming stakeholder trainings organized by Discover Dominica Authority.
DATE
TRAINING
TARGET AUDIENCE
August 27 - September 1, 2018
Tour Guide Training
• New Tour Guides
September 10-12, 2018
Disaster Risk Management
• Hotel and Tourism Association
• Chamber of Commerce
• Large, Medium and Small tourism operators
• SME Development agency
• Educational Institutions
• Customs and Immigration
September 17-18, 2018
Management of Service Quality
• Proprietors, Senior Executives and General managers
• Service Quality Coordinators
and HRD Specialists
September 19-20, 2018
Management of Sites and Attractions
• Forestry Park Wardens
• Trail Guides
• Ministry of Tourism Of cials
• Discover Dominica Authority Of cials
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Tourism Summit - Darin DesVignes, Vice President, Brighter Group delivering presentation on UK Market
Tourism Summit 2018
Lise Cuffy, Marketing Executive, DDA
Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) hosted ve overseas marketing agencies who represent Dominica in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany source markets, as well as the creative agency, Fahlgren Mortine, for a marketing tourism representative summit from July 13-17, 2018. The objectives of the tourism summit were two-fold. First, the representatives from all the markets including local marketing team members for the Caribbean and French West Indies met with key industry stakeholder groups and presented their marketing plans for 2018/19 and provided insights into reaching travelers from their markets. DDA also led the overseas representatives on an island tour to hotels and sites to get a sense of the current tourism product offering and recovery efforts. The Ministry of Tourism & Culture and the Dominica Hotel & Tourism Association also made sterling presentations on the
current tourism products. The discussions during the summit also focused on how DDA along with overseas representatives and local stakeholder groups can work together to increase visitor arrivals to Dominica.
Participants at summit
Photo Credits: DDA Image Library
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Dominica Film Challenge 2018
Lise Cuffy, Marketing Executive, DDA
DOMINICA FILM CHALLENGE
The Dominica Film Challenge, an on-island video competition, was launched on Friday, June 15, 2018. Six teams were selected to demonstrate their best videography /storytelling skills in search of unique and compelling scenes of what Dominica has to offer visitors. The winning team will be rewarded with
an EC$10,000 grand prize for the best promotional video. At the launch ceremony, the teams were each presented with a check of EC$4,000 to facilitate their expenses related to the production phase of the challenge. While the participating teams were given a lot of creative freedom in conceptualizing and lming their productions, each video is required to feature a particular niche of Dominica’s tourism product such as hiking, history/culture, cuisine and health and wellness.
Destination Sales Calls to the Caribbean Region
Samantha Letang, Marketing Executive, DDA
Three countries were visited in June as part of Discover Dominica Authority’s plan to foster closer relations with the media, diaspora and the travel
trade in the region. As part of promotions for the ReDiscover Dominica campaign, Destination Marketing Manager Vicky Chandler and Marketing Executive Samantha Letang visited St. Lucia where more than nine radio and television interviews were conducted.
In St. Maarten, a diaspora meet and greet event was coordinated along with media interviews though the
efforts of the Dominica Foundation on St. Maarten.
In Trinidad, which is relatively a new market for Dominica, visits were made to various travel agencies and wholesalers to push Destination Dominica. As
an added feature to the sales calls, the World Creole Music Festival was highlighted coming from the June 27 media launch in Dominica.
These visits to key destinations gave the opportunity to forge closer media relations to further promote the destination along with targeting new markets for development.
Travel Agent/Tour Operator Outreach
Lise Cuffy, Marketing Executive, DDA
Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) hosted a webinar to over 35 Canadian travel agents on July 10, 2018,
to increase awareness. The webinar provided
the opportunities to share details on new hotel developments, incentives for selling Dominica packages and updating agents on the status of the island. The bene ts to DDA included generating of visibility with travel agents and tour operators that may be interested in carrying Dominica packages. The outcome from the webinar, it is hoped, is increased travel agent participation and support in booking packages to Dominica. The last Canadian travel agent webinar took place in April, 2017 where 40 agents participated. The webinar has been downloaded and was accessed by over 200 additional agents.
ReDsicover Dominica Staycation 2018
Lise Cuffy, Marketing Executive, DDA
Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) invites all Dominicans to experience and indulge in Staycation 2018 – the ReDiscover Dominica edition. Staycation summer deals and packages will run from
July 23 - September 30, 2018. All are urged to ReDiscover Dominica and experience our Nature Island in rejuvenated splendour and enjoy a staycation with a difference at one of the island’s longstanding participating hotels or opt for one of the beautifully
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DESTINATION MARKETING furnished, modern, self-contained apartments in the
north in Picard, Portsmouth.
Offers range from a 5% to 40% discount at hotels
and apartments during the summer season. Patrons are encouraged to participate in exhilarating tours, rejuvenate their minds and bodies at one of the hot springs, experience whale watching in the south or north, horseback riding through the rainforest and on Purple Turtle Beach, canyoning, scuba diving, hiking, visit the Kalinago Territory, waterfall expeditions,
bird watching at Syndicate, Indian River Safari, beach limes or one may simply participate in a voluntourism activity. In addition, all are also being invited to take advantage of the opened restaurants, cafes, bars, and hang out spots island-wide to entice your taste buds and enjoy the island’s local delicacies and scrumptious meals. Staycation offers unique opportunity for nationals and returning nationals alike to experience the island’s varied tourism product.
Press and Familiarization Trips – Come Let Me Show You My Island!! Lise Cuffy & Samantha Letang, Marketing Executives, DDA
Press and FAM trips continue monthly in an effort to increase positive destination awareness that Dominica is open for business. Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) relies on journalists and travel writers from the major markets to share the word that Dominica is still present on the market.
Here is an overview of the Press and FAM trips hosted in June and July.
German Market
• German Public TV ARD - A three-member
crew from ARD TV, a television production company based in Germany, visited Dominica from July 14-22, 2018, to lm a documentary
on voluntourism in Dominica. The documentary will be embedded in a prime frame time at noon between international news and latest politics from around the world. The anticipated audience
and awareness will be very impressive. The ARD is one of two public broadcasts having a market share of over 12% . Reach was around 0.9 mio.
• Ms. Rita Kunert, owner of the German tour operation, Caribicinseln, visited Dominica in early July to undertake a fam trip. The tour operator conducted site inspections at several propeties to include Pagua Bay House, Aywasi, Secret Bay, Picard Beach Cottages, Sunset Bay Resort, Fort Young, Mango Island Cottages and Jungle Bay. Ms. Kunert also got an oveview about the island‘s tourism infrastructure especially in the city of Roseau. Her article can be read at http://www.caribicinseln.com/dominica/ dominica1.php.
UK Market
• Hannah Tavner from UK iNews was the rst journalist from a UK newspaper to visit Dominica post Hurricane Maria. She covered how the island is recovering, experienced stays at different accommodation types and on island activities. The journalist was quite impressed
to see the level of work that had taken place in Dominica compared to what she had previously seen and read about the island. Her coverage
on Dominica in the newspaper will be bene cial to the destination. The UK iNews has a daily circulation of 252,814.
• Radhika Aliah and Malenne Pone from Evening Standard, London Live and Balance Magazine visited Dominica from July 27-August 3, 2018. Balance Magazine is a free monthly publication, released on Mondays, offering compelling insights, practical everyday tools, positive news and witty opinion pieces brought to readers
by leading journalists, experts and thought leaders. Balance Magazine is for those who care about themselves, their family, their society and, ultimately, the planet. The mission is to deliver mindful content to help reduce stress levels and promote happiness and well-being. The main demographic of readers is 21-44 years old with the average reader being 33. The
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magazine targets male and female readers with its wellbeing and lifestyle content and has a circulation of 202,881.
• The write up in the Evening Standard will explore the island’s health and wellness tourism as it has been recognised as a mountainous mecca for pioneering wellness enthusiasts. Dominica
is also home to many centenarians therefore
a logline of ‘How to live to 100 according to the women in Dominica’s Kalinago Tribe’ will add a very interesting angle to the feature.
Metropolitan France
• An eight-member group from Metropolitan France arrived early in June and focused on
the recovery of the dive industry along with a feature on Dominican cuisine. The group had the opportunity to partake in diving in the north and a night dive in the south along with canyoning
in the Roseau Valley. The group represented various media houses and tour operators in France; Chercheurs D’eau, Plongez, Sports & Sensation, Seven Seas Voyages, C6Bo and Plongeurs International.
French West Indies
• A group of six from the French West Indies also visited in June, with a focus on the recovery
of the destination. The group consisted of ve tour operators from Carib Holidays, Passion Outremer, Navitour, Bleu Marine and Foyal Tours along with a journalist representing France Antilles. Visits to a number of opened properties and upcoming properties were made on their short visit.
Radhika Aliah and Malenna Pone on the Indian River
Photo Credits: Oris Campbell
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REPORTS
CTO Caribbean Week New York 2018
Lise Cuffy, Marketing Executive, DDA
Participation in U.S. Caribbean travel events is a key element in increasing Dominica’s exposure within the travel industry. Caribbean Week hosted multiple events to showcase the best in Caribbean tourism. Discover Dominica Authority’s (DDA) participation
in this event allowed specialized Caribbean travel agents to keep up-to-date on Dominica’s new products and itineraries. Caribbean Week also allowed DDA
to directly reach various media outlets encouraging
signi cant publicity opportunities for Dominica. Dominica won Best Photograph in conjunction with
a featured article, “What’s New in the Caribbean.”
The article was featured in The New York Times; Photographer - Patrick Dykstra, journalist - Elaine Glusac. The story was published on November 6,
2017, with 29,886,442 unique viewers per month and provides an update of the different Caribbean islands hit by the hurricanes. The main article’s photography is from Dominica and it shows a sperm whale next to
a diver.
interCaribbean Airways Travel Agent Update Forum
Lise Cuffy, Marketing Executive, DDA
Destination Dominica participated in interCaribbean Airways Travel Agent Update Forum in Santo Domingo on July 3, 2018. interCaribbean Airways invited destination partners to meet with the travel agent community to provide destination updates and have one-on-one discussions. The Dominican Republic is one country where the agencies have grown rather than shrunk. interCaribbean Airways commenced ights to and from Dominica, St. Lucia and Tortola in March, 2018.
Colin Piper, CEO/DOT, DDA and Hugh Riley, Secretary General, CTO poses with ‘Best Photograph in conjunction with a Featured Article’ award
Photo Credits: DDA Image Library
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FCCA Environmental Poster Competition
Deslyn Simon, Quality Assurance Assistant, DDA
Tana Valmond, a student at the Dominica Grammar School, has secured second place in the 2018 FCCA Environmental Poster competition. This year’s competition was held under the theme ‘Weathering the Storm: Disaster Preparation for My Destination.’ This year’s competition attracted ten entries from six schools: Orion Academy, Dominica Grammar School, St. Mary’s Academy, Convent Preparatory, Wills Strathmore Stevens Primary and Kaleb John Laurent Primary. This translated into a total of six more entries than last year’s competition when only four
entries were received from three schools. The posters were locally judged by local artist, Earl Etienne, and President of the Waitukubuli Artist Association, Mr. Lowell Royer. Posters selected for submission to FCCA were those of Tana Valmond of the Dominica Grammar School (Senior Division) and Emilo Sanford of the Saint Mary’s Academy (Junior Divison). Tana Valmond will
be awarded USD$1500 for second place in the senior division. The Dominica Grammar school will also be awarded USD$ 1500. Emilo Sanford will be rewarded USD$200. In 2017 Dominica secured third place in the FCCA Environmental Poster Competition.
Kalinago Indians perform during the welcome entertainment for passengers
Photo Credits: DDA Image Library
Carnival Cruise Line Resumes Summer
Calls to Dominica
Deslyn Simon, Quality Assurance Assistant, DDA
On July 10, 2018, Dominica celebrated the long-awaited return of Carnival Cruise Line to its shores. The MV Carnival Fascination sailed into the island’s capital, Roseau, bringing well over 2,000 cruise passengers. Prior to this call, Carnival Cruise Line last called to Dominica during the 2015/2016 cruise ship season after
pulling out in 2010, ending a 21-year relationship with the island, due to high fuel prices.
Post Hurricane Maria, Dominica hosted a delegation from Carnival Cruise Lines in January, 2018. The delegation conducted site inspections of the island’s major sites and then returned from July 1-3 to monitor the island once more to determine the islands readiness for cruise activity. Based on several meetings held with the Line and the work which was
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undertaken by the Government to include rehabilitating the sites and getting Destination Dominica prepared, Carnival Cruise Line is back!
Several new features were introduced to enhance
the welcome experience of the cruise passengers
of Carnival Fascination. Over $6 million has been invested in site reconstruction and rehabilitation in effort to get the sites ready for visitors. With 98% of the island’s sites and attractions opened, the passengers of the MV Carnival Fascination engaged in tours to many of the island’s sites to include the Emerald Pool, Trafalgar Falls, Ti Tou Gorge, Morne Bruce, Botanical Gardens and Mero Beach. River tubing and Jeep safari tours were also among the activities enjoyed by the passengers.
Carnival Fascination during its July 10th visit
Photo Credits: DDA Image Library
Cultural entertainment was held at the island’s newly renovated Roseau Cruise Ship Berth and signature
site, the Trafalgar Falls. The entertainment included dances from the rst settlers, the Kalinagos, traditional dances by the Pointe Mitchel Cultural Group and the island’s Carnival icons, the Sensay and Stilt Walkers. Live musical entertainment was also provided by various local musicians. A live mural painting was done by the Waitukubuli Artists Association which added to the visitors’ experience, creating photo opportunities for the many cruise passengers who disembarked. Dominica will continue to intensify its 2018/2019 cruise welcome program for an improvement in cruise visitors’ experience. The 2018/2019 welcome program will include activities such as the contracting of local bands to perform at cruise ports, the involvement of preschoolers to greet cruise visitors upon arrival, the placement of student information of cers at strategic locations around the city to provide information and guidance to cruise visitors, and the contracting of local rum punch vendors to provide sampling of the island drinks to cruise visitors, to name a few.
These anticipated calls from Carnival Cruise Line come at a critical moment during the summer to allow our many cruise stakeholders to earn a livelihood
post Hurricane Maria and to allow them to prepare
for a more active season beginning in October. The Government and people of Dominica are forever grateful for the overwhelming support received by Carnival Cruise Line after the passage of Hurricane Maria in September, 2017. Over 12 containers of supplies including food and water were donated to the island by Carnival Cruise Line.
A total of 189 cruise calls to the island are projected for the 2018/2019 cruise season. Dominica expects
to welcome nine new cruise ships to its shores. Inaugural ceremonies including plaque exchanges will be held aboard the respective ships. The Government of Dominica has gained the support of all tourism stakeholders in ensuring a welcoming and enjoyable experience for cruise visitors. The Government of Dominica will continue its effort in promoting Dominica as a desirable cruise destination to increase cruise calls to Dominica.
15


EVENTS & FESTIVALS
Mikael Guirand performing at WCMF 2018 launch
Photo Credits: DDA Image Library WCMF 2018 Launched
Marva Williams, Festival & Events Manager (Ag.) DDA
A star-studded line up was announced for the 20th edition of Dominica’s World Creole Music Festival. The June 27th event took place in the serene ambiance
of Palm Cottage, Roseau. While there, festival enthusiasts waited with bated breath for the lineup
of artistes slated to perform at this year’s Festival. Among the headliners are Jamaican reggae superstar Chronixx; Trinidadian soca stars Machel Montano
and Kes the Band; and dancehall artiste Mavado
of Jamaica. Yemi Alade of Nigeria represents the afrobeat genre, kompa artistes Sweet Micky, Kai and Klass and zouk artists, Jean Marc Ferdinand, Orlane, Francky Vincent, and Stephane Ravor will entertain patrons with enticing rhythms. Midnight Groovers,
Signal Band, Triple Kay, Mizik a Nou All Stars and solo- artiste Asa Banton from Dominica will also be featured at the Festival.
Former lead singer of the Carimi Band, Mikael Guirand, entertained an appreciative crowd with melodius kompa hits. Patrons can anticipate a bigger and better World Creole Music Festival with more top performers to be announced. This year’s Festival is part of year-long of activities to celebrate Dominica’s 40th anniversary of Independence and encourages visitors to Rediscover Dominica.
16


EVENTS & FESTIVALS Dive Fest 2018
Simon Walsh
For the last 24 years The Dominica Watersports Association (DWA) has ensured that Dive Fest in July has become one of the most anticipated events of
the year. There is a reason that “if it’s July, it must be Dive Fest” has become a summer time mantra for the general public.
When Hurricane Maria hit in 2017, she did so much damage to our infrastructure and psyche that many
in the sector wondered how we could nd the energy and time to organize this huge 10-day event. With many of DWA’s members like Anchorage Hotel and Dive Center, Champagne Dive and Snorkel, Buddy Dive and Al Dive and Watersports not operational and the rest working night and day to rebuild and repair, there was uncertainty about hosting the event.
As July approached and more and more people asked about Dive Fest, DWA realized that the island needed events like these to make things feel more normal and have a little “free up.” So under the encouragement of DWA’s President, Mr Daniel Perryman, the members came together to create a program of events that re ected the effects of Maria but also kept the core events and motivation of Dive Fest alive.
Once again, the Association organized free scuba diving experiences at various locations around Dominica, discounted whale watching for people
to learn about our resident sperm whales and reef clean up dives which were ever more important since the hurricane. Dive Fest 2018 was launched with the Fort Young Happy Hour and ended with the Kubuli Fun Day in Soufriere which was adapted from the usual boat races; there were no traditional Kalinago boats anymore for that event. Some events had to
be cancelled on the rst weekend due to the threat of Tropical Storm Beryl but events like Fort Young Happy Hour were enjoyed by everyone who went. As always, those who came out to try diving were taken
of very well by our professional members and had a great time learning about the underwater world. The Soufriere event with Extasy Band playing live was well- attended and many of those there were happy for the slightly smaller crowd allowing more freedom to move around, get food and cold Kubuli beers.
The dive sector is one of Dominica’s strongest tourism sectors and Dive Fest and the DWA are critical partners with Discover Dominica Authority and Ministry of Tourism and Culture. DWA has worked with them over the years to ensure that the word is spread about our excellent diving, snorkelling, whale watching and service providers that ensure our patrons are safe and have great experiences.
DWA thanks all its sponsors, especially Kubuli who have stood with the Association for all 24 years and Discover Dominica Authority who supported our decision to conduct Dive Fest 2018 despite our challenges.
It has been a fantastic run and DWA is proud to be the longest running Dive Festival in the Caribbean.
Dive Fest will be 25 years in 2019; get ready for a bigger and better Dive Fest from July 5-14, 2019!
17


LOOKING AHEAD
18


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