BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (Aug. 14)—Caribbean and global tourism leaders gather in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, next month to discuss and devise strategies to position Caribbean tourism for major change.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Industry Conference will bring together speakers of local, regional and international acclaim from various tourism-related fields to share best practices and winning strategies on a wide range of issues that impact the region’s bread and butter industry. The conference theme dovetails with the organization’s vision for Caribbean tourism, says the CTO’s secretary general, Hugh Riley. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable year-round, warm weather destination. The conference theme is “Realizing the Vision: Positioning Caribbean Tourism for Major Change.”
“Working towards that vision and measuring the steps to get there is really a very important part of what we do. We’ll have experts from throughout the Caribbean region and across the world talking about these issues that affect the lives of Caribbean people,” said Riley.
“It’s important to remind ourselves and the whole region that because tourism is everybody’s business, everyone is invited to make their voice heard in their business and to hear what other people are saying about their industry,” he added.
The CTO has confirmed a lineup of presenters that includes representatives from some of the world’s major brands, including Google. SOTIC is being organized in collaboration with the USVI’s Department of Tourism and will be held at the Marriott Frenchman’s Reef and Morning Star Beach Resort in St. Thomas Sept. 17 to 19.
The conference attracts Caribbean tourism practitioners, policy makers, strategic partners from the public and private sectors, academics and travel professionals to discuss issues, identify solutions and develop courses of action to help tourism. There will also be a major media contingent covering the parley.