The question all Caribbean islands should ask, what is our unique selling proposition? What are you good at and improve that continuously. All the island share the location in the Caribbean, the tropical climate, the beaches and multicultural society. But what makes you unique, or how are you going the differentiate yourself from the rest.
To be succesful the island must have the best internet (ICT) on the island. Meaning high speed, low prices and WiFi hotspots. You must attract the creative class (performing artist and knowledge workers). Society should be tolerant and have open mind. People should feel and be save. This according to prof. Richard Florida.
View the island not as a state but as a corporation. Make a strategic plan and excute. Fight corruption because corruption is a root cause of underdevelopment. It makes everything more expensive because it disturbs the market. Have a small competent civil service, mean and lean.
The strategy regarding tourism should be based on the theory of experience economy.
The term Experience Economy was first described in an article published in 1998 by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, titled "The Experience Economy". In it they described the experience economy as the next economy following the agrarian economy, the industrial economy, and the most recent service economy. This concept had been previously researched by many other authors (see History of the Concept).
Pine and Gilmore argue that businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers, and that memory itself becomes the product - the "experience". More advanced experience businesses can begin charging for the value of the "transformation" that an experience offers, e.g., as education offerings might do if they were able to participate in the value that is created by the educated individual. This, they argue, is a natural progression in the value added by the business over and above its inputs.
Although the concept of the Experience Economy was born in the business field, it has crossed its frontiers to tourism, architecture, nursing, urban planners and other fields.
The Experience Economy is also considered to be the main underpinning for customer experience management.
Within the hospitality management academic programs in the US and Europe, Experience Economy is often shortened to Exponomy and is of increasing focus." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Experience_Economy)
Be smart. For example. If one million tourist visit the island. There must at least a few investors visiting. Do the research and find out who they are try to exchange ideas with them. Another possibility to be smart is to update your websites regularly. Websites with old or static information are useless. A third example of being smart is to make an app for visitors. It is the best way to make everything the island has to offer available to the visitor.
Bring in an outsider. He might have a fresh perspective on the possibilities. Let us have a Talk 3.0
Some people like Jacob Geltdekker ask me to explain 3.0. Here is a Dutch Aricle in Dutch newspaper De volkskrant. (http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2694/Tech-Media/article/detail/3364265/2012/12/16/Google-goeroe-Vreemd-hoe-slecht-internet-wordt-benut.dhtml)
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