Trinidadian, Caribbean and international journalists will go to bat on the region’s hosting of the World Cup cricket competition in 2007 and the links between the media, sports and tourism when CMExPress is held in Port-of-Spain next month. This is the latest one day innings of the successful Caribbean Media Exchanges on Sustainable Tourism that have been on tour across the region for three years now.

Ê“The Caribbean people are passionate for this game but will the sustainable benefits of the World Cup slip by them? Will the region be stumped by the aftermath of the Cup?” asked Lelei LeLaulu, president of Counterpart International, the organisers of the media meeting to be held on Friday, February 25, 2005.

World Cup Cricket will bring a surge of tourism dollars and development to the Caribbean, but it will also bring great social and economic costs. CMExPress will bat around both sides of the issues, in anticipation of this international competition.

Delegates will also widen their focus to examine how sports tourism as a whole affects Caribbean economies, culture and society. They will examine how this sector can be tapped for the benefit of the region, what can be learned from the techniques of other major sports marketing campaigns and where sports and sustainable tourism overlap.

According to Pamela Richards, chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, “sports is possibly the world’s largest social phenomenon; tourism certainly is the fastest growing sector in most economies.ÊIndividually and collectively they engender an understanding of different cultures and lifestyles; promote peace; motivate and inspire people and provide entertainment opportunities… in the Caribbean region, sports is a way of life, while in many instances, tourism is our lifeline.”

“This Trinidad session is the perfect opportunity to explore this important nexus between tourism and sports - and between the Caribbean and its visitors,” said LeLaulu, who noted that Counterpart also looks forward to establishing a working relationship with the Association of Caribbean Media Workers, whose president Wesley Gibbings, is based in the oil-rich country.
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