SOTIC 2015 CURACAO: AN INTERVIEW WITH MAURICE JENKINS
By JJosepha News
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Willemstad, Curacao. The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) State of The Industry Conference (SOTIC) 2015 will be held in Curacao this week and one of the distinguished speakers will be Maurice Jenkins, who serves as the division director, information systems, and functions as the principal advisor to the aviation director at the Miami International Airport, on all matters related to information management and information technology.
Miami International Airport (MIA), located on 3,230 acres of land near downtown Miami, is operated by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department and is the property of Miami-Dade County government, according to its website.
The annual economic impact of MIA and the General Aviation Airports is $33.7 billion. MIA and related aviation industries contribute 282,724 jobs directly and indirectly to the local economy.
Jenkins, who is of Jamaican heritage, kindly agreed to answer some questions concerning his upcoming presentation at the conference.
"As a native Jamaican, I love to see the awareness raised in technology and transportation in the Caribbean region,” he said.
Josefina Josepha: What is the major goal of your presentation as a speaker at SOTIC 2015?
Maurice Jenkins: To present the current state of the air transport industry as it applies to MIA and the region in addition to technology and technology initiatives.
JJ: In brief; what new and emerging technologies could be applicable to the Curasaleno airport systems?
MJ: Passenger processing, mobile, queue management.
JJ: In summary, how can existing systems be improved to better serve the Curasaleno airport system and the needs of its customers, both international and national?
MJ: That would require an examination of existing business processes and organization objectives. This would afford the opportunity to define problem statements, identify and address any readily available systems for implementation.
JJ: In an advisory or consultative role, what are the strengths and opportunities as well as the weaknesses and threats from an IM (information management) and IT (information technology) perspective that you can briefly comment on, without breaching any national security concerns?
MJ: You are examining this from an Internal and External perspective. IM /IT are faced with the challenges of security, cyber security and internal as well as external threats. That requires mitigation by training and educating staff, ensuring your systems are current on latest updates, educating technical staff. What does your IT master plan look like, is it in line with the business goals of the organization, do you have the ability to rapidly deploy technology or is there a process instituted and how does that impact acquisition costs.
JJ: What business model or principle can Curacao’s tourism uphold as a prototype for successful penetration in the emerging markets that is tourism related and concentrated?
MJ: The air transport industry as with tourism continues to grow. Thanks to emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa there is an increase in financial spend by a growing middle class. With that said, a focus on personalization of the customer and the customer experience is essential.
JJ: What can Curacao Airport system do to increase its rating to a level 1, to capitalize on the American tourist market?
MJ: Effective strategic marketing and collaboration.
JJ: What is the expectation value of a proposed stronger relationship/alliance with the MIA to feature Curacao as an international hub for the Caribbean?
MJ: A sound solid relationship with an airport supporting over 100 air carriers and a strong and effective local business and tourism organizations.
JJ: What future is there for investing in the Asian/Chinese tourist market as a feasible market share to build on?
MJ: A recent article noted that the Asian/Chinese tourism market. In a recent tourism review weekly article, it mentioned the Asian market to spend 229 billion dollars in tourism in 2015:
Chinese travelers to spend $229 billion in foreign countries in 2015
Retailers have been advised to reconsider their international marketing plans as far as Chinese tourists are concerned. According to a recent report that was published in Fung Business Intelligence Centre (FBIC) and China Luxury Advisors (CLA), latest projections indicate that Chinese travelers are expected to spend $229 billion in foreign countries this year alone and $422 billion by the year 2020. That provides a huge potential market for global retailers and brands.
JJ: What future is there for investing in the India tourist market as a feasible market share to build on?
MJ: The India market’s repeated growth and with flights coming out of the region to MIA would also add the India market as well.
The SOTIC 2015 Conference is scheduled to open on Wednesday and concludes on Friday.
NB Josefina Josepha’s weekly Ask Nina column will now appear on Thursdays.
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