Dr.

Keith Nurse
Dr. Keith Nurse is a Senior Fellow at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for social and Economic
Studies and the World Trade Organization Chair at the University of the West Indies. He is
also the former Executive Director of the UWI consulting Inc. Dr. Keith Nurse is currently
teaching faculty at the Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and
Services, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados and also at the Arthur Lok Jack School of
Business, Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr. Keith Nurse has served as an adviser and consultant to organizations such as UNESCO
and IDB just to name a few. He is a member of the Economic Development Advisory Board,
Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and expert member and member of the
executive bureau. In the field of tourism, Dr. Keith Nurse has conducted research on creative
tourism, the economic impact of festival tourism, business models in heritage tourism, the
implications of climate change policy on tourism, tourism and trade in services, and diasporas
and global tourism. Dr. Nurse is the executive producer of the docudrama Forward Home:
The Power of the Caribbean Diaspora.
However, these above mentioned are only a few out of many great accomplishments
throughout Dr. Keith Nurses career.
The topic of Dr. Keith Nurses keynote presentation was on how Caribbean destinations can
promote their brand and intellectual property through the creative industries.
A few key takeaways from the keynote:
1) Dr. Keith Nurse writes about tourism from a trade perspective. In the Caribbean
tourism is the number one source of foreign exchange, business exports, employment,
and GDP.
2)
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Creative industries are multilayered and comprise off:

Traditional Cultural Expressions. E.g. art crafts, festivals, and celebrations.
Performing Arts. E.g. live music, theatre, dance, opera, circus, puppetry etc.
Audiovisuals. E.g. film, television, radio, other broadcasting.
New Media. E.g. software, video games, digitalized creative content.
Creative Services. E.g. architectural, advertising, creative R&D, cultural and
recreational.
- Design. E.g. interior, graphic, fashion, jewelry and toys.
- Publishing and Printed Media. E.g. books, press and other publications.
- Visual Arts. E.g. paintings, sculptures, photography and antiques.
- Cultural Sites. E.g. archeological sites, museums, libraries, exhibitions, etc.
A vast majority travel to access cultural experiences in destinations, e.g. London, New York,
Thailand etc. It is estimated that 60 to 70 percent of tourism is either directly motivated by
cultural content or they are choosing destinations for business and other activities.
3) Creative industries benefit tourism significantly:
- Creative industries generate new niche markets for the tourism industry. It drives
tourism for the reason that tourists would come to a destination for a short break to
visit an event or festival.
- Creative industries generate higher levels of domestic value added. One of the

challenges in the Caribbean is a lot of the capital we generate from tourism flows
back out. It is estimated that in the Caribbean every dollar that a tourist spends, 60 to
90 percent of it goes back out of the economy. The challenge is how do we ensure, to
capture more tourism to a destination.
Creative industries generate urban regeneration, E.g. Sint-Nicolaas, which is a classic
illustration of how creative industries drive the demand and creates opportunities for
urban generation.

4) Destination branding:
- India is utilizing their creative industries images, and icons of their culture to sell
their destination.
- A lot of destinations are using celebrities for branding purposes.
- Movies brand destinations significantly e.g. New Zealand where Lord of the Rings
was shot.
- Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is one the largest film festival in the world
in terms of numbers of attendees. It is estimated that TIFF generates approximately 27
thousand visitors, of which four thousand plus are industry personnel. Festivals
similar to these not only attract high numbers of visitors but also industry
professionals. One industry professional is equal to ten tourists. This industry
professional generates economic activities in other sectors.
- In the literature, there is a term that recently evolved called Festivalization.
Festivalization is defined as the ways in which countries and cities are using festivals to
brand their destination. E.g. Dominica. Dominica has the World Creole Music Festival. They
have secured a clear Niche for themselves that links Dominica with the other French
Caribbean territories. Many artists and bands that Dominica attract for the festivals come
from French Caribbean territories. No other Caribbean territories can easily compete with
Dominica, for the reason that they have secured a niche for themselves.
- Grenada refers to their festivals as Spicemas to brand their destination, but also to link
it to one of Grenadas largest exports.
5) Festivals and events do generate a significant amount on return on investment (ROI).
Return on investment of Caribbean festivals data 2010:
Trinidad Carnival: seven times return on investment.
St. Lucia Jazz: nine times return on investment.
Barbados Crowpover: two times return on investment.
Spicemas: ten times return on investment.
WCMF: nine times return on investment.
- Trinidad Carnival in economic perspective:
Trinidad Carnival has high level of visitor arrivals and expenditures.
(i.e. averages visitor expenditures have risen from a slump in the post-2008 crises to a peak in
2014). The entertainment share of carnival visitor expenditures has risen to 30-35 percent in
recent years.
- The top-selling Caribbean artist is Bob Marley.
According to Forbes magazine Bob Marley is in the top ten highest earning dead artist in the
world. He is estimated to worth 30 million dollars and his catalogue is estimated to worth 100
million dollars.
6)
Lastly, Dr. Keith Nurse also used an example of British-Jamaican reggae musician,
television personality, celebrity chef, businessman and multi-millionaire Levi Roots.
He started a line of products, all the music you can eat. Some of the products he sells

include Reggae-Reggae Sauce, Rasta Pasta Sauce, etc. He outsells Heinz in the UK. He is
also starting a number of restaurants in major cities, global cities, as well as Jamaica.
All in all, for many small countries in the Caribbean, with a narrow and declining industrial
base. The creative industries are an engine for economic growth and a mechanism for
diversifying economies, improving competitiveness and promoting entrepreneurship.
The creative industries offer scope for innovation, economic diversification and global
competitiveness since they draw on the creativity and enterprise of local artists and the youth.
Defining Aruba as a creative Island is imperative for the reason that there are numerous
opportunities ahead for the Island. Difference is what makes us beautiful indeed.
Having the cultural confidence to be who we are is what really makes us happy as people.
This in return will also make other people happy.