Interview with Hon. Adrian Thomas, Minister for Tourism Creative Economy and Culture, Grenada

11 Jul Interview with Hon. Adrian Thomas, Minister for Tourism Creative Economy and Culture, Grenada

You became Minister of Tourism 3 months ago. What are your current goals and priorities?

We – this government – are very serious about tourism. We understand the contribution it has made and is making, to the GDP of our country. Presently it stands at 40.5% of GDP. There’s also a plus to the contribution that St. George University contributes to the economy, which is about 25% and some people link that directly to tourism since it is an American Institute, with over 6,000 students on the island, therefore makes a significant contribution to the tourism industry, especially regarding the ripple effect. Those 6,000 students have to feed themselves, they move around in taxis and they rent facilities from a lot of people in the area. While the school may provide some accommodation, quite a few of them like to go into the communities and mingle with the people. We understand what the tourism industry means to the economy.

We also have a new policy that we want to put in place. We are focusing on sustainable tourism, which is very important. We want to make sure that we can compete within the Caribbean per se, but we want to compete with Europe, we want to compete with Africa and Asia because we believe that the Caribbean is so unique. We are quite a few islands within Caricom, but each one of us is unique and we offer different vibes in the tourism industry.

As the government we want to push tourism, we want to make sure it is contributing as it should, as maybe one of the main pillars. In Grenada, so many people are involved in agriculture directly and indirectly, but tourism is hard to beat.

Yachting is a young industry that is growing in Grenada. The Grenada tourism industry is still young in itself. It’s in a burgeoning stage. This is the correct moment to apply sustainability and to make sure that what we’re doing is done properly. The cruise ship industry is very important and we are working with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. We are also working with some of the hoteliers in the Caribbean. So at least when we are speaking tourism in the Caribbean, we can speak one language and we can sit down with agencies in North America and negotiate for better practices.

With Grenada recently hosting the Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Conference and the upcoming Caribbean Investment Summit, could you share with us the outcome of this conference and summit

What we found out during the conference is that Grenada has been practicing sustainable tourism for a very long time whether people were conscious or subconscious. We gathered from this very important meeting that many of us could not do anything without the people. The conference itself highlighted the five Ps as a theme: People, Planet, Prosperity, Purpose and Partnership. If you have these five pillars in your industry, you already will be making a significant impact.

The home of the tourism industry is the planet. If we don’t protect the planet, we do not have somewhere to advertise and all of us will suffer- the visitors, the host- everybody will suffer. We want everybody to enjoy the prosperity of this industry. Tourism must be designed in such a way whereby the people feel the impact of it, not only in hospitality but also economically. We want to ensure that the communities in the rural areas are part and parcel of the tourism industry. We will be focusing on enhancing the product for the interest and then the benefit of our people and when the visitors come, they will share it with us because we are unique and different. Our lifestyle will also be marketed as a tourism product and we definitely believe that people will come and be part of it.

The hotel associations and the tourism authorities cannot do it by themselves. We want to promote public-private partnerships and if we don’t go in that direction, we’re going to feel it. When tourists come to Grenada, they need to eat, but we do not want to have a cruise coming from New York and when they reach Grenada, they see vegetables and fruits from Manhattan or Boston. We want them to eat the local food. We have a lot of nice dishes in Grenada. Our national dish is oildown, there’s nowhere else in the world you can find it.

We also have our cultural heritage. You come to Grenada and think you’re coming to one island. But you are coming to 3 lovely islands. We have Carriacou and Petite Martinique also as part of our state. They have incredible traditional cultural practices that we have not seen anywhere else in the world. We have turned this into a festival where the people enjoy it.  When the visitors come and they see the people celebrating their own culture, they come back again, not only by themselves but with friends and family.

Most of all, we have to protect our environment. Whatever we do, we must enhance the environment. We have to take care of the beautiful lake that we have in Grand Etang and the beautiful beach we have in Grand Anse. One mile of white sand is maybe the most beautiful beach in any part of the world. We have to preserve that; we have to make people feel that we have something to offer and people must enjoy it and at the same time, they must get value for their money.

Out of this conference, many of these areas were highlighted and Grenada found itself practicing many of those things consciously or unconsciously. We think we are doing a very good job and that we are contributing to the sustainability of tourism in the Caribbean.

What kind of partnerships or investments are available so that the US can help society and the country to develop itself and then they can enjoy it as well as the locals?

The United States is the biggest market for Grenada. Most of the tourists come from North America, the USA In particular. The Citizenship by Investment program is an international program we have embraced and it’s working in our interest. We also believe that we should build on what we have in terms of partnership and encourage people to come to Grenada and work with the government and the people. There are a lot of local companies in Grenada that invest heavily and they also try to partner with foreign investors, especially from the United States. The University of Saint George is a key player in this process.

Are you planning to bring more big, luxurious hotel chains? What is your target for hotels and accommodations?

The Citizenship by Investment program, mainly focuses on hotel development. We have benefited significantly from that, particularly in the industry. Only three weeks ago, we had the Six Senses just opening its door. It is amazing to see the Six Senses approach. The first visit I had to the site of the hotel was when we were in opposition and the environmentalists were very concerned in terms of what Six Senses was doing with a natural lake that had been there for centuries. I have since been amazed to see what they had done regarding preserving and enhancing that lake. It’s a hotel that sits nicely on the beachfront and also inserts itself into the environment rather than those tall skyscraper-style hotels. This hotel has been established in the rural area of Grenada and it is a magnificent setting there.

We do have big hotels in Grenada. We have Sandals, Silversands and Radisson. We want to also encourage tourism in the rural areas where people can come in and not necessarily establish those big towers and skyscrapers but have nice little villas. There are lots of people in the world who want to come to those areas where they can feel at home, not just stay one night and move again, but they are comfortable enjoying the environment and our beautiful island. We want to have tourist accommodations from the highest to the lowest.

Grenada’s carnival is in August. How can our readers come and enjoy carnival with you?

This year is our 50th year of independence and our government has decided to celebrate independence for the entire year. We started last year in October/ November and we are going right through 2024. The celebration in February was massive. Many of the Caribbean leaders came to Grenada and those who couldn’t come sent their deputies and secretaries. It was like a Caribbean festival. With what we have demonstrated and advertised there, I’m sure that the needle will go higher for tourism in the Caribbean and for people to visit Grenada. Every parish in Grenada will be having a one-month celebration. Saint Patrick Parish had their celebration in March. St John Parish in April. It will go on and on and on. It will be a whole year of celebration.

We had the carnival in Carriacou, one of our islands, already in February. You also have a carnival in Grenada in August. As soon as you leave Carnival, you’re going into Christmas. So, save your vacation and come to Grenada for one whole year!

Our carnival is rising. We are unique with the Jab Jab tradition. This is one of our signatures to our Carnival. It highlights some of the traditional customs that we have and what our forefathers had handed down to us. We have a lot of traditional bands. We have Pretty Mas, we have Calypsos, we have steel bands. All those things go with lots of food and drinks and having a ball. If you love the party, Grenada is the place!

Looking forward, what would be your goals for your mandate and what would you like to be remembered for when the time is for you to leave the position?

I do not interpret tourism as a situation where I’m preparing for visitors. I believe in developing tourism for the people to enjoy. Whatever we do and whatever the people feel happy about, that is the direction I will go and when the visitors come, they will also enjoy it and they will participate and come again. I want to make sure that the people of Grenada are carried along in every single activity. I want to make sure that the knowledge of tourism is not only embedded in the hotelier’s head or the restaurant’s people. I want to make sure that it is in young people and that in schools they are introduced to tourism at a very early age because we want to make sure that, with their participation regarding hospitality, welcoming the tourists, or being a good tour guide, they are fully aware of what it ought to be. We carry the slogan “Tourism is everybody’s business.”

I want to make sure that our people can say because of tourism, I was able to go to school without paying school fees, I was able to go to the hospital and get free medical attention, because tourism brought in a lot of resources to the economy and because of tourism, I am here benefiting as a citizen of Grenada.

Any development that does not create an economic impact on the people is no development, which is not what I advocate. When tourism grows, the whole economy grows, the whole country grows, the agricultural sector grows, the fisheries industry grows, the taxi operators grow and the divers grow.

We have maybe the best and biggest underwater sculpture park in the world. We have just established 75 pieces of sculptures in Molinere. People come to Grenada for that. There are a lot of taxis taking tourists there. There are a lot of vendors. When tourism is going well, your country must prosper. We want to make sure that the economic impact is being felt throughout Grenada.

What would be your final message to the readers of USA Today?

I want to encourage people and let them know that the level of hospitality in Grenada is amazing. Everybody is a friend. The crime rate is very low. There are times when the crime rate in our country is 0 for the year. That in itself is something that we are very proud of. When tourists visit our country, they can feel safe. I go home at night and if I forget to close my door, I sleep quite comfortably. If I forget to lock my vehicle, I sleep quite comfortably. That is the level of safety that we have in Grenada. Therefore, we’re going to use that to let the world know that if you want to relax, Grenada is the place to go.