Dominica National Tourism Policy And Master Planning
Assignment:
The Commonwealth of Dominica is a tourism-dependent country; the total contribution of tourism to the Dominica’s GDP is approximately 33%. As the Nature Island of the Caribbean, Dominica’s tourism is primarily based on the natural environment – water, wood, whales, and wildlife. However, in 2015 and again in 2017, Dominica was hard hit by Tropical Storm Erika and category five Hurricane Maria, respectively. The island was devastated and lost billions of dollars in property, infrastructure and income.
Tourism development needed a renewed approach. The Tourism Master Plan needed to be redeveloped to consider the natural disasters and the country’s new climate resilient thrust. Our company was selected from among 22 competing firms to take up the challenge.
Key Features & Implementation
Results:
A Responsible Tourism Policy & Master Plan
Delivered a Responsible Tourism Master Plan to guide Dominica towards becoming the first Climate Resilient destination in the world. Many of the policies and proposed legislation were geared towards building back better after the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
A Multi-Disciplinary Team of Experts
A Team of 12 Experts were deployed to carry out the policy development, in the fields of strategic planning, sustainable tourism development, land use planning, climate change, coastal and marine spatial planning, human resource development, urban development, economics and forecasting, market research, and marketing.
Consulted Over 100 Stakeholders
Carried out two Tourism Master Planning Stakeholder workshops as well as dozens of one-on-one meetings, site visits and focus-group meetings. Over 100 stakeholders were involved in the process.
Engaging and Effective Workshop Facilitation
At one of the workshops, 96% of participants indicated that the workshop achieved its objectives and 100% said that the workshop addressed the key issues. The consultations provided us with the unique advantage of involving a large cross-section of stakeholders in the process and creating high levels of “buy-in” in the implementation of the tourism policy.
Innovative Community Tourism Ideas
Novel ideas and innovative solutions were also delivered to communities, including the establishment of the Rabbit Festival in the community of Cochrane to mitigate against the decline in demand for rabbit meat and brand the community as a viable tourism entity.
200 Strategic Initiatives over 10 Years
The Master Plan identified numerous initiatives and actions that will drive its implementation, particularly as it relates to building resilience. Over 200 Strategic Initiatives valued at +US $14 Million.
New & Innovative Markets
Unique psychographic market segment for Dominica e.g. market segment related to sustainable living, co-working assisted-living, and the transformational travellers were identified.
Innovative Solutions and Strategies
Developed the concept of the Community-Based Tourism Niche Networks (CB-TENN) to drive tourism development on the island from the ground up.
Effective Marketing Strategies
Developed detailed three-year marketing and communications plans for each of the priority markets – USA, Canada, French West Indies, Metropolitan France, United Kingdom, and the German-Speaking markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A strong focus on digital marketing.