Colleagues, somehow I feel that I’m in an unenviable position of having to address you as delegates and I as an expert, since I made my living as a fulltime journalist over the past 20 years, up to March of this year, and I still make part of my living as a journalist. I truly believe that I ought to be sitting where you are and someone else should be here.

    Since I represent the Caribbean Tourism Organization here today, I’m supposed to be diplomatic and politically correct, something I haven’t done in 20 years, and I am supposed to blow the horns of 32 member countries. However, I wish to take the opportunity to talk about my country, Dominica.

    I come from possibly the greenest country on earth. It is still said that if Christopher Columbus should return today to recolonise the Americas, Dominica is the only country he’ll recognise. That’s partly, I believe, because the country is still the virgin that he met, and partly because we are the only country left where the true indigenous people still exist.

    Ours is a country where a percentage of electricity is still generated by water; a country where organic farming still takes place; and where pure spring water flows through the tap. It’s a country where fruits can still be picked off the tree and eaten without fear of chemical poisoning; where swimming in the rivers is still prevalent and where visiting any one of the several natural attractions is as natural as breathing. Well, almost as natural as breathing. You see, Dominicans do not need an excuse to visit the Trafalgar Falls or the Cabrits.

    It would seem that my country, Dominica, wrote the book on eco-tourism a long time ago, without realising it. What the people of Dominica have been doing for years have included community participation and conservation; benefits of eco-tourism. And if this seems like an advertisement for Dominica, it is. I strongly recommend that you visit my country and begin writing about all the good things you see.

    So what are the economic benefits of eco-tourism? The answer, as you might imagine, depends on who you ask. Conservationists look at its contribution to local environmental protection. Travel agents focus on profits. Travelers bring their expectations and the host country wants as much foreign exchange as possible and no damage to the environment.

    The eco-tourism market isn’t easy to measure and it is difficult to say who are the eco-tourists. But let me hasten to say that it is foolish to label anyone an eco-tourist simply because they visit a park or a protected area. The World Tourism Organisation estimated that nature travel generated about 7% of all international travel expenditure in 1997. It also estimated that global spending on eco-tourism increases by 20 percent per year. If we believe the WTO figures, it’s clear that eco-tourism can develop into a lucrative niche for many Caribbean destinations. When hotels/destinations erect waste treatment facilities and implement proper garbage disposal methods, tourists will be willing to pay for such guarantees.

    Eco-tourism trips have a primary focus on visiting remote and relatively unaltered natural environments, as opposed to resort-oriented destinations, and eco-travel maintains a low impact on the natural environment. The economic impact of eco-tourism refers to the change in sales, income, jobs, etc, generated by eco-tourism. A common goal is the generation of economic benefits – profits for the companies, jobs in communities, resources for community projects.

    Eco-tourism creates jobs in remote areas that historically have benefited less from economic development programmes- the people of Dominica’s Carib community can get to sell their handicraft; professional tour groups are being formed in Trafalgar and in Portsmouth. The number of jobs created right now is nothing to shout about, but even a small number of jobs can be significant in economically deprived areas. Once again, let me invite you to visit Dominica. I guarantee you will love it.