John Issa, Contributor

Issa

When I created the first all-inclusive hotel in Jamaica, 30 years ago and a year later, the world's first couples-only all-inclusive hotel, it was not part of a grand design to develop a far-flung international business.

At that time, the mid to late seventies, Jamaica was experiencing great social and economic upheaval and our tourist industry had all but collapsed.

Having been in the industry for virtually all of my working career, I was not prepared to let it die.

Another consideration was the fact that, without tourism, Jamaica would implode economically and socially.

I therefore sought to create a product that would have such appeal that travellers would seek it out despite any negatives they may have heard about Jamaica.

Low Room Rate

The holiday I created allowed persons with moderate budgets to live richly on vacation without any worry about money. At the time, resorts in the Caribbean were nickel and dining their guests to death with surcharges and high food and beverage prices, having sucked them in with a low room rate.

Also, when I advertised Hedonism in Negril in 1976, I referred to Negril as an Eden in the Caribbean.

The advertisements did not mention that Negril was in Jamaica.

Hedonism, at the time, was singles-oriented, so to broaden the market, I then created the couples-only holiday.

As the saying goes, the rest is history, because what I started on the Negril beach in Jamaica during December 1976 has resulted in a significant change in the way people throughout the world now take vacations.

My great regret is that I did not think of registering the intellectual property of the totally all-inclusive holiday, which included even drinks and tips, and then be able to sit at home and collect a small royalty on every room night sold around the world using my concept.

Franchises

Anyway, after these totally all-inclusive hotels were opened, the travel industry took note of the phenomenon and started advising some persons who had problems filling their hotels to contact me in Jamaica.

This resulted in my introducing the concept through franchises and management contracts into countries such as St Lucia, Barbados, Cuba, and subsequently in the Bahamas, Brazil and Curacao.

I had to franchise and offer management services in the early years because, at that time, Jamaica had very strict exchange control regulations and one could not invest outside Jamaica without breaking the law and risking prison.

An interesting fact worth mentioning is that when I franchised one of our brands in St. Lucia at the end of the seventies, most of the travel industry in the United States didn't even know where St. Lucia was located.

At that time, St Lucia's tourism was almost entirely dependent on the European market.

Also, when I offered the totally all-inclusive product to the British Tour Operators, they said that British travellers would not buy these holidays because of the higher upfront price point.

This, despite my pointing out the superior value of my offering.

Ironically, today the British will buy little else.

When Jamaica removed all exchange control restrictions in the early 90s, I was then able to seriously consider international expansion. I also took the decision at the time to concentrate on my core business and exploit my core competence.

In the highly competitive international marketplace, it is important to exploit those areas in which one has the expertise and not try to be all things to all men.

Doing business in a Caricom territory, such as St Lucia or the Bahamas, is almost like doing business in Jamaica. The similarities far outweigh the differences.

Conversely, in countries that have a different heritage, which of course results in different legal systems and cultures, doing business is quite another matter.

So when I ventured to operate in countries with Portuguese, Dutch or Spanish backgrounds, I realised how much I knew about my own country; and how much there was to learn about the others.

At home, you can make decisions with a far greater chance of success because you have assessed the pros and cons against a vast amount of existing knowledge without even being conscious that you are so doing.

So one important bit of advice that I would like to leave with you this evening is to be aware of how much one doesn't know when attempting to do business in a new country.

I have often repeated the saying that "the wise man is the one who knows what he doesn't know."

Even when you do the usual research into labour laws, tax laws, company laws and regulations, there is usually something that jumps up and surprises you.

Then there is the question of the character of the persons with whom you interact and do business.

In your own country, you know who you can believe, who exaggerates, who honours their word, who doesn't and, to put it more bluntly, who is honest and who is not.

Therefore, the worst thing one can do when venturing far afield is to assume that you know it all.

Although I was asked to speak on the subject of international investment, I could not resist taking advantage of the opportunity you have given me to speak with such an influential group of persons from so important an organisation, without raising one of my greatest regional concerns.

I must commend our governments for moving ahead with the CSME.

However, the Caribbean Single Market and Economy is looking more and more like a marriage in which those being joined together wish to enjoy the carnal pleasures of married life but do not want to make a full commitment to the responsibilities.

Some of the timid steps towards establishing the CSME also seem fundamentally flawed.

We should have free movement of people.

But to have an elitist class who are given the right to work in all territories while at the same time withholding this right from those who are neither entertainers, sportspersons, university graduates nor selected professionals, is in my view, unjust.

Are these classes of persons more important or more productive than a good cook, welder, plumber or salesperson without a University Degree?

The countries of the region have been toying with a greater degree of integration for almost fifty years.

The time is now when we need to have free movement of people, capital, goods and services within Caricom.

I am well aware of the social and political pressures that resulted in what I consider an unjust regulation re the freedom of Caricom citizens to work anywhere within the region.

I therefore strongly suggest that the categories of those who are free to work throughout the region should be speedily expanded until we have free movement for all our people.

We must also remove the barriers that remain for a number of products and services.

If most of the nations of Europe - who speak a variety of languages, have very different cultures and have been at war with each other, on occasions too numerous to count - have been able to agree on a common passport, free movement of goods, services, capital and people, we must be able to find a way to do the same.

The European nations did not take these steps because they were nice ideas.

They did so because they believed, and I will add, correctly believed, that their citizens would have a better quality of life, more opportunities and greater income than if they had not.

Let us look at a brighter, more prosperous future for our people by finding the way to break down the remaining barriers to free trade, free movement of capital and the free movement of our people.

So as not to breach those two great truths of public speaking which I mentioned earlier, I will close by once again thanking you for this opportunity and for all the gracious hospitality that you have extended to my family and myself, and to wish you another fifty years of growth and success.

I am confident that it won't take you another fifty years to add another four hundred members employing an additional fifty thousand people.

Speech made by John Issa, chairman, Superclubs Super-Inclusive Resorts at the 50th Anniversary dinner of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) dinner on October 30.