Caribbean News Now!

By D. Markie Spring
Turks and Caicos Islands

The digital revolution has created an entire new set of capabilities for customers and businesses, notwithstanding countries that want to become market leaders, and to competitively and aggressively gain market share in the tourism industry.

The author of a number of published works, D. Markie Spring was born in St Vincent and the Grenadines and now resides in Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. He has an MBA from the University of Leicester, England, and a BA from Saint Mary's University, Canada

Ideally, St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has been struggling for some time now and failed to acquire a significant piece of the tourism pie. Coupled with this and unlike other top Caribbean destinations, SVG refused to utilize the old adage of investing huge sums in mass advertising, commissioning expensive marketing research and a large marketing department.

If SVG does not have enough resources (money, time, expertise/ know-how), the marketing department should employ different strategies that fit its capabilities and competencies. Hence, it is recommended that SVG (private and public sectors) pursue strategies successfully implemented by companies like Boston Beer, Harley Davidson and Virgin Atlantic, where they stay in close contact with their customers and provide satisfying customer solutions. Therefore, SVG is encouraged to utilize creative public relations, build networks, and focus on solid customer service while simultaneously capturing lasting customer relationships and loyalty, and spending less.

Furthermore, to complement this, another marketing strategy in this networking economy is a strategic marketing alliance. First, in SVG the private sector and the tourism ministry should partner; hence, focusing on a strategic fit, which allows SVG to define and assess its core competencies then find partnering companies that would complement them in areas, such as geographic positions and business lines.

Thereafter, they should form alliances with international corporations -- corporations such as cruise companies, travel agents, advertising media and airlines that complement or leverage SVG’s resources and capabilities. In this sense, SVG could well benefit from the already Star Alliance that amalgamates fifteen different international airline companies around the world that connects travelers to more than 700 global destinations.

Henceforth, without this strategic alliance SVG could face enormous trade barriers and high costs in applying and acquiring licenses, advertisements, form joint ventures with local firms, developing marketing strategies and marketing segmentations strategies, and research and Development (R&D). Hitherto, developing global strategic networks would eliminate those barriers and costs and SVG could ultimately overcome legal and trade barriers, achieve economies of scale, reduce risk and entry cost in new markets, decrease exit cost relative to divesting operations and capacity gaps in present markets and technology.

Similarly, this new global economy allows marketing alliances to be derived from strategic alliances – in this capacity, promotional alliances, pricing collaborations, services alliances and logistic alliances can be acquired from such global networking strategy.

In this sense, SVG would have to estimate its costs by assessing its formulated marketing programs. To derive this criterion, the tourism sector could apply Activity Based Costing (ABC) to specific marketing programs to determine feasible outcomes to justify its costs.

Moreover, empirical evidence indicates that, for instance, established airline companies like American Airlines (AA) and JetBlue; coupled with cruise companies often promote their destinations in an effort to make awareness and increase travel. Ideally, SVG can profit and gain from these initiatives; allowing its strategic partners to take on that parts of the total costs.

Conversely, SVG would have to invest in infrastructure at home to ensure that its facilities are intact to deal with the influx of tourists and their demands: roads, healthcare, education, tour guides, customer service, restaurants, security and safety and the like.

However, knowing what the authorities in SVG had pursued in the past, it less likely that they would even listen to these recommendations. To back this up, a few months ago Cable News Network (CNN) conducted travel destination surveys and found that SVG was one of the world’s leading tourist destinations; yet, SVG did nothing to take advantage of this free, but important data that was given to them..

This network economy is paramount to SVG’s economic development; hence, we should adapt these innovative strategies to make our country the top destination in the region; strategies that cost less, but mean more.

If we are going to accomplished this and gain market shares both the private and public sectors must collaborate and compromise – it is possible!

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John:

Markie,

between the start and the end of this article i am lost as to what is it you are really suggesting but this could be because of my ignorance to the topic so ill leave it at that.

However, i have a question about an idea you posted

"In this sense, SVG would have to estimate its costs by assessing its formulated marketing programs. To derive this criterion, the tourism sector could apply Activity Based Costing (ABC) to specific marketing programs to determine feasible outcomes to justify its costs."

Could you please elaborate on what you are saying here and how are you going to apply ABC costing to your suggestion (This will make a nice Thesis for my Oxford Brookes Degree). So please elaborate because i dont think you had another one of them brain farts.

John

Peter:

HORACE WILLIAMS, more fraud on your part now playing JOHN.

Hurry up and visit SVG, we want to have a quiet chat with you.

Simon Anderson:

MARKIE what did you steal from a Priest?

MARKIE why did you lie in that article regarding pre-election violence in SVG?

On Dec 6, 2010 you wrote saying that ULP supporters violently attacked NDP stalwarts.

That was/is not true.

The exact opposite was the case, but you lied, Markie!

What's up with that, KING LIAR?

John:

Peter,

why you and others keep saying that me and Simon are one and the same person we are not.

But i am still waiting on markie to respond.

Peter:

SIMON ANDERSON, JOHN, AND A NUMBER OF OTHERS WHO POST ON THIS SITE ARE IN FACT HORACE WILLIAMS THE MARXIST FRAUD AND PAID COLLABORATOR ON BEHALF OF GONSALVES AND THE UNITY LABOUR PARTY. WILLIAMS IS A KNOWN COWARD AND NEEDS TO HIDE IN FEAR OF THE VINCENTIAN PEOPLE PUNISHING HIM FOR HIS DIRTY ACTS AND BEHAVIOR.

D. Markie Spring :

Peter let’s stay on the issues!

Horace Williams’ strategy from the ‘get-go’ was to sway and detour intellectuals from the issues and truths. He is not capable of discussing the issues; therefore, he sticks to what he does best – the guerrilla warfare. Many has seen this and rejected it, so no problem on our sides.

Peter, ask yourself, does Horace Williams contribute anything? Let me help answer this, no! Look at all his responses – same ‘ol boring chatta. This is the same thing we are witnessing in our government, same ‘ol monotonous garbage. No question our economy might be going down the road of sliding economic growth, because they left the country’s challenges unattended and swipe at the people who opposes. It would be good if they have the ‘know-how’ to clean up their own mess.

The man is caught up in his own pathetic beguile. According to his monstrous profile he graduated from Humber with a marketing management degree (no mention of his English honor from Cambridge) yet there is nothing he can tell us about marketing and what it means for a new SVG economy.

I know there is no snow in Orlando, but it seemed like the man’s brain has frozen! Let’s stop waste our precious time!

D. Markie Spring:

Horace professed to be a marketing director, yet he is unable to contribute to the good of the country he pretends to love so much. Look at how he describe the contents of article. Any person who has graduated with a marketing degree or is working in that field would know what I am talking about. He tried discredit my article under 'john' and failed. Now he is attempting under Simon now he has given us enough reasons to believe he knows nothing about marketing. Is Horace one of those things that fly out from their hole in pitch darkness. What you call them ? Yeh! Bats. I learnt those strategies when I took marketing management. Let's allow Horace time to continue his useless mire and more we are proving that he is a little more than guessing. Poor fluke

Simon Anderson:

Markie, so you want me to teach you a thing or two about MARKETING?

Markie, sorry, that is going to cost you. I will not contribute to the drivel you wrote above, or teach you anything for free.

Markie, what you need to be doing is telling the readers exactly what you stole from the Priest.

And while you are at it Markie, explain the report you wrote on December 6th 2010 concerning pre-election violence in Chateau.

Markie, you reported that 4 ULP supporters attacked, kicked and viciously beat 3 NDP stalwarts.

The article was entitled "A political war with bloodshed," and you lied to your heart's content.

Your account was totally untrue, and you know it...because you made it up!

You concocted that story which occurred opposite to the way you spun it.

In other words MARKIE, YOU ARE A DAMN LIAR!

John:

Markie,

why do you answer Simon but never respond to my questions?

Is it that i am not in the same class intellectually with you so you don't need to answer or my questions are to hard for you to answer.

It appears that you and peter seems to think i am Horace or Simon or some other person but i can guarantee you that i am not. Maybe one of these ill contact you in another forum and let you know who i really am.

Let me give you a clue, If peter is Brian Alexander as Simon claims, then myself and peter are related. In local terms we are "village people".

Peter:

Thanks for the good advice MARKIE. Of course I am aware that HORACE WILLIAMS or whoever he chooses to be at any one time, SIMON ANDERSON, JOHN, THE POPE, A POLICE CHIEF, NELSON, A SCHOLAR, DOLLY PARTIN, AN INTELLIGENT MAN, AN EDUCATED MAN, yet he is none of these things. He is a know all know nothing ex Vincentian American jerk.

MARKIE that is why I always attach some GONSALVES or ULP information when replying to his idiotic crap. Everytime he writes his rubbish it gives me the opportunity to post something more interesting.

Anyone feel like puting these words to music.

CALYPSO SONG, BIG MAN NO GOOD

Big man no good
Red on back brown in crack
Be understood, big man no good
Brown in crack red on back
Big man no good, floppy wood
Lady complain, rape in yard
Big man no good, he not hard
Still he rape, without regard
Big man no good, floppy wood
Understood, floppy wood he no good
Floppy red wood, soft and smelly
Wobble like dish of fish jelly
Wood not stand, used elastic band
Whole world laugh
Need new wood, or cold bath
Big man no good, got floppy wood
Tit for tat finish wid dat