The Impact of CMEx
The Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism has:
- Helped the Caribbean and International media to better understand the importance of genuinely sustainable tourism to communities, governments and civil society.
- Enhanced the sensitivity of government, industry and NGO participants to the importance of getting accurate and timely information to the media to enable the Fourth Estate to improve the quality and quantity of the coverage of the region's most productive industry.
- Encouraged and enabled the Caribbean media to educate Caribbean residents, tourists, governments and the tourism industry about the huge value of sustainable tourism to the development of healthier and wealthier communities.
- Moved tourism related stories from the social pages, to hard news and business sections and increased the trust between stakeholders in an industry which employs one in every four of the region’s workers.
- Recognized by the tourism industry as boosting the flow and substance of comprehensive tourism-related articles, stories, radio shows, television programs broadcast/published, as well stimulating the reporting of difficult issues.
In the course of doing so it has also helped the media by:
- Improving the media emphasis placed on the region's economy, health, education, and youth.
- Attracting noted members of the international media to the CMEx conferences to share knowledge and skills.
- Through its journalism awards, has recognized a number of Caribbean journalists for pursuing excellence in tourism reporting. This program encourages writers and reporters to highlight the merits and the challenges of tourism to the public.
- Creating a number of freelance outlets in the United States for Caribbean journalists.
It has helped civil society by:
- Stressing the value of reviving culture and stimulating community pride and health.
- Alerting the public and industry to the dangers to the region and its youth from the spread of HIV/AIDS.
- Assisting in the staging of 2003 and 2004 Caribbean Media Awards (United Nations Population Fund) on Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights issues in Jamaica. (www.caribbeanmediaawards.com)
- Stressing the need to make tourism "the first, and not last, resort" for the best and brightest of the region's youth and inspiring youth delegates to consider tourism as a serious career option. Youth participants have begun to implement a number of initiatives, including a tourism club and youth tourism pages in local papers.
- Providing a core of expertise tapped for other initiatives, such as the Green Hotels Conference, the Caribbean Hotel Association's Advocacy and Marketing efforts and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s Caribbean Week of events in New York.
- Contributing towards the education of Caribbean students through the provision of sponsorship to facilitate continuing study, and the capacity building and fundraising efforts of Caribbean NGOs.
- Giving hotels the chance to showcase aspects of their sustainable operations to the regional and international press corps.
- Increasing airlines' and hotels' commitment to sustainable tourism.
It has helped International Development efforts by:
- Contributing to the international debate by disseminating information about the Caribbean region's approach to sustainable tourism.
- Providing South-to-South networking opportunities for journalists, Caribbean governments and the tourism industry.
- Facilitating networking which led to community-based programs such as the reef restoration programs (Coral Gardens) in Jamaica and Honduras.
- Inspiring the World Tourism Organization's TOURCOM, the first tourism and communications conference in Madrid.
- Offering a model being considered for replication far beyond the shores of Caribbean Island Nations in Central Asia and the Pacific islands.
|