Differences in language and culture can be assets to increasing tourist arrivals in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region, said Julio Orozco, director, sustainable tourism, Association of Caribbean States (ACS). He said the region has a “great” inter-regional cultural base. “We have three languages: French, English and Spanish. We have the Caribbean, then Latin America, also from Europe, because we work with the French territories,” Orozco said during the coffee break at the Meeting of Regional Tourism agencies, which was held yesterday at the ACS headquarters, Sweet Briar Road, St Clair.
The meeting was themed: “Sustainable Tourism: Building Bridges for Co-operation and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, Promoting Community-based Tourism for Diversification and Competitiveness.” Explaining further, Orozco said difference in language and culture are assets because, “the region becomes very attractive when you have so many manifestations of culture and languages. That's why we are trying to promote this, in order for people to visit here to experience it. The different mix we have in the region, from one country to another, or from one sub-region to another.”
His comment comes ahead of a summit to be held in Havana, Cuba, in January 2015. Sustainable tourism, he said, means the government and private sectors from each country protecting its resources, including its cultural heritage as well as its flora and fauna. Orozco said the aim is to promote multi-destination travel in the region. And as the American President Barrack Obama take steps to reform immigration laws in the US, talks are ongoing in the LAC region to improve the immigration laws, said Carmen Gil Erazo, representative, Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC). “Recently, we had a meeting with this issue in mind. What we seek to do is to find means to regulate this and to control it. It is a complexed issue and requires consensus from member states. There are other aspects (of immigration) that are still being negotiated.”
While countries in the LAC region continue to struggle with drug trade, Gil Erazo confirmed there was an agreement yet to be ratified by all LAC member states. “There is an agreement that has been put on the table for the illicit trafficking of psychotropic substances. Some countries have signed on to this. We hope that others will also ratify it, so that this agreement will enter into force. The idea is that we all respect the internal processes of each of the countries and this is an issue which requires some patience.” Representatives from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Central American Tourism Integration Secretariat, the Republic of Nicaragua, Suriname and Argentina were in attendance.