Trade Watch V9 No1 2015

EXPORT SUCCESS

The Caribbean: Sun, Sea, Sand and Sport

T20 cricket has reignited the imagination and draws crowds back to the stadiums for fast-paced games. Think of what it can do for tourism and the economy! When people think of cricket in the Caribbean, often it conjures up images of children playing on the pristine sandy beaches against a backdrop of turquoise water with the sun shining endlessly against it. That’s a rather romantic image of yesteryear, as today you are more likely to find children playing football on the beach and basketball in the parks. For quite a few years, regional and even international cricket had been played in the West Indies, more often than not, to half empty stadiums, but the inaugural Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 (T20) competition finally reignited the imagination of disgruntled fans. In July and August of 2013, the Caribbean witnessed sold- out stadiums, captivated crowds and international investment far surpassing what the organisers had ever expected. The CPL represents for the region a great opportunity to exploit sport tourism, which is a fast growing sector of the global travel industry. It was in September 2012 that the West Indies Cricket Board announced that it had finalized an agreement with Ajmal Khan, founder of Verus International, to fund the league which operates under a franchise model comprising six teams—the Antigua Hawksbills, the Barbados Tridents, the Guyana Amazon Warriors, the Jamaica Tallawahs, the Saint Lucia Zouks and the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.

T20 was introduced in 2003 as a new format for the game, a fast and furious version that has become an instant success with cricket fanatics, and has also delivered significant value to multiple partners—teamowners, broadcasters and sponsors alike. Global interest has grown significantly and this high-energy game has a natural home within the Caribbean, synonymous with vibrant, colourful Carnivals and a party atmosphere. High energy is exactly what was experienced at every CPL T20 game that was played during the summer of 2013. “There is nowhere in the world that I have ever experienced an atmosphere like what we had at CPL,” said CPL Chief Executive Officer Damien O’Donohoe in a recent interview. The T20 series hosted more than 250,000 fans across six countries and 36 million viewers worldwide. Approximately US $4.868 million was spent in and around the stadiums, which could result in an economic impact of US $91 million when hotels, travel, food and other services are taken into consideration. These figures cannot be taken lightly, especially in view of the ratio between regional visitors and international tourists attending the games. As much as 90% of league has been funded from within the region, with Digicel as the global sponsor and Guyana’s Limacol as the title sponsor. The success proves that there is spending power within the region, O’Donohoe said, and “with the right structure and the right team, we can deliver a world-class event in the Caribbean as the CPL is second only to the Indian Premiere League.”

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8 Tradewatch • The Official E-Newsletter of the Caribbean Export Development Agency • Vol.9 No. 1 January - March 2015