One Caribbean Canada marketing the region as whole

June 8, 2025

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Boasting vibrant cultures, diverse marine ecosystems and breathtaking natural landscapes makes the Caribbean islands unique and a destination for vacationers.

Working directly with tourism partners, including tourism boards, hotels, villas and airlines, the new One Caribbean Canada (OCC) organization is using a focused strategy to sell the Caribbean as a whole.

Many islands rely heavily on tourism for their economies with the product contributing about 50 percent to some of them Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Nancy Drolet, the former Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) business development representative in Canada, started the organization with support from industry partners.

It fills a void after the CTO closed its offices in Toronto and New York in 2019, citing a need to restructure and reorganize to better promote and develop tourism in the region.

With nearly three decades of experience in the travel industry, Drolet knows that a well-designed website is important for promoting tourism as it serves as a central hub for information, leading to a significant increase online visibility and direct bookings.

“As we started working on it, we realized that so much of the information is consumer-friendly,” said the multilingual travel and hospitality executive who was Jesson + Company Communications’ vice-president responsible for travel trade for 35 months until February 2024. “Consumers are hungry for information and this gets them exposed to more Caribbean countries that they previously knew about. The website could be a tool for agents to use to help close their bookings and provide information to their clients. When they are searching for information, they have visit every country’s website which is set up differently. It is hard to find the information. With our website, every country’s page is set up the same way so the information is in the same place for them.”

Since the organization was launched just over a year ago, the website has been updated to address user needs.

“There have been requests for medical and accessibility information relating to the Caribbean and we added those,” said Drolet. “We responded to an agent with a lot of dive clients who wanted to know which destinations have hyperbaric chambers. Since the last elections in the United States, Canadians at consumer shows across the country have been requesting information on long-stays.”

After the pandemic arrived in 2020, working remotely and travel arrangement flexibility have increased, contributing to the sharp increase in long-stay bookings in the Caribbean.

Starting with 18 members, OCC has increased to 25.

They include Jamaica whose economy is heavily reliant on the tourism sector and St. Eustatius, also known as Statia, which is working on a new tourism master plan that will guide the sector’s inclusive and sustainable growth.

“This collaborative effort to unite a single marketing campaign is a game changer,” said Angella Bennett who is the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) regional director in Canada. “This initiative aims to promote the region’s diverse offerings, enhance visibility and drive tourism.”

Angella Bennett (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

As the second most visited Caribbean destination last year with 2.9 million stopovers and 1.2 million cruise passengers, Jamaica is a tourism leader in the region.

Acknowledging there is strength in numbers, Bennett is confident the island will benefit from a single unified organization.

“We are looking at increased global visibility and reach, shared resources and expertise, enhanced competitiveness in the tourism market, opportunities for collaborative marketing and product development,” she added. “By working together, we can showcase the Caribbean’s unique culture, beauty and hospitality, attracting more visitors and boosting growth. We are confident that Jamaica’s rich heritage, stunning landscapes and warm people will shine through in this joint effort, solidifying its position as a premier destination. We are looking forward to being part of this initiative and will be exploring ways to leverage this partnership for Jamaica’s benefit.”

In 2024, Jamaica was among six Caribbean destinations that accounted for more than half of the region’s stopover arrivals.

Last year, Grenada’s tourism sector experienced significant growth with a 17 percent year-over-year increase in visitor numbers.

Sekou Stroude (Photo contributed)

Despite the surge, Grenada Tourism Authority Director of Sales in Canada Sekou Stroude said there is always room for growth.

“One Caribbean Canada is a powerful platform that will position Grenada and the Caribbean as premier destinations for Canadian travellers while serving as a one-stop resource for travel advisors for all things Caribbean,” he pointed out. “The organization will leverage industry collaborations and promote tourism-driven initiatives to amplify brand visibility and drive visitor engagement, expanding Grenada’s reach and accelerating visitor arrivals. It will also engage media practitioners to craft compelling articles, ensuring Grenada remains top of mind for Canadian tourists.”

The Caribbean islands’ unique characteristics, encompassing diverse culture, cuisine, and landscapes, create a rich tapestry of experiences.

Shelley John, the St. Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) Tourism Authority sales director in Canada, expects the OCC will boost visitation to the islands.

Shelley John (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Last year, SVG was among the smaller islands that experienced growth in 2024 with a 27.2 percent increase due mainly to a boost in airlift capacity and the launch of Sandals St. Vincent.

“One Caribbean Canada is the medium that will enable us to market our islands’ unique characteristics collectively on one site, creating a single resource centre for both travel advisors and their clients,” John pointed out. “Collaborating as a single region on One Caribbean Canada augurs well for each country’s increased visibility in the marketplace.”

In 2024, Antigua & Barbuda welcomed approximately 1.2 million visitors, sparking a 6.1 percent increase in GDP. Tourism accounts for 70 percent of the GDP.

The island also hosted the 43rd Caribbean Travel Marketplace last month.

Erica Henry-Jackman, Antigua & Barbuda’s former Director of Tourism in Canada, said the OCC provides large and small member countries an opportunity to appeal to a wider audience.

“If we sell the Caribbean as a unit, we are appealing to a lot more people,” she said. “If I had a Canadian who visited Barbados or Jamaica, I knew I had an easy sell because that person understood the Caribbean’s best attributes. I didn’t have to explain in detail what the experience would be like in Antigua & Barbuda. With Canadians looking beyond doing the typical Florida and Arizona vacations, this is a perfect opportunity to reach these people uniquely by selling the entire Caribbean as one.”

Henry-Jackman noted that the entity will also benefit travel agents who market the Caribbean.

Erica Henry-Jackman (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

“When the CTO had a presence here, many Caribbean islands had tourism offices in Canada,” she added. “As the first point of contact in Canada, travel agents can use the OCC which amplifies the message instead of replacing a tourism board. Right now, only Jamaica and Barbados have sizeable tourism staff members in Canada. Destination marketing and public relations firms represent the others. The other thing is that the travel agency business has changed since the pandemic. Many agents are now working from home and some of them are new and only know Cancun and the Dominican Republic. These new agents, some of whom are doing the work part-time, may not be familiar with the English-speaking Caribbean which is where we have the largest deficit.”

Not only does the OCC promote the Caribbean, but it also offers critical marketing for some of the smaller islands that are not well known in Canada.

One of them is St. Eustatius, a tiny Dutch Caribbean island in the northeastern Caribbean Sea with a population of about 3,500.

A regular visitor to the island for the last 15 years, media specialist Johnson Johnrose was the strategic communications advisor to the government for almost three years until January 2024.

Before that, he was a communications specialist with the CTO for two decades.

“Comprising just 8.1 square miles, Statia is hardly known and it is not a mass tourism destination,” Johnrose said. “If you are seeking beaches, you would not get that. If you are a nature lover, you will find many hiking trails, including the Quill which is a dormant volcano and open air museum with nearly 120 historical monuments. It is also a fantastic diving destination known for its vibrant underwater world. In addition, the people are extremely warm and welcoming and the island is very safe.”

Johnson Johnrose (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

Next year, St. Eustatius celebrates the 250th anniversary of the First Salute, acknowledging American independence.

On November 16, 1776, the island’s Dutch Governor fired an 11-gun salute in response to the USS Andrew Doria’s 13-gun salute. The event is considered the first time a foreign country recognized the United States during the American Revolutionary War.

In addition to the 25 members, the OCC has 33 hotel partners and an exclusive air partnership with Caribbean Airlines.

“We would like to add InterCaribbean Airways to promote to Canadians,” said Drolet. “None of the airlines in the Caribbean are in an agent’s GDS (Global Distribution System). As a result, most Canadians who would like to island hop and do a ‘T centre holiday’ (multi-centre holiday) are not aware of the carriers to use to do those things. We have both public and private ferry options on our website that you can utilize if you want to explore various islands using that mode of transportation.”

Last year, Canadian arrivals to the Caribbean reached 3.3 million which was a four percent increase from the previous year.

There is increased flight capacity to the region with 26 weekly to Nassau, including new routes from Halifax and Ottawa, expanded service to Montego Bay, Grenada and other islands and seasonal non-stops to Exuma, St. Martin and Curacao.

Travelling at a young age to the region was a transformational experience for Drolet.

As a child, she visited Freeport on Grand Bahama Island with her sister and parents two successive years.

“It was the first time I had seen water that colour,” recounted the former Sears Travel Service regional and cruise product manager. “Also, everyone was so warm and welcoming which left an amazing impression on me. Speaking to a destination representative while visiting Cuba made me feel I would love to do to that job.”

Later while working part-time with her cousin, Drolet met an Antiguan immigrant who was on the staff.

“This lady told me so many good things about the island that my family took a trip to Antigua,” she said. “We met her family and I returned with her for Carnival and Sailing Week. It is because of those experiences that I immersed myself in the travel industry.”