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The Ritz Carlton Cayman Islands was the venue for this event, which the Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, called: “The Most Successful CTO event ever.”
Ministers and heads of tourism boards from throughout the Caribbean discussed cooperation, building connectivity through air links, and how to move forward with the idea of a One Caribbean destination.
A new initiative was born at the event. It was named “REIMAGINE.”
Reimagine will be headed by the ministers from Jamaica and Barbados to work out a plan to make the goals set at this conference a reality.
The new Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Hon. Kenneth Bryan, who is also the Minister of Tourism for the Cayman Islands, and the host of this event, said:
“We asked Minister Bartlett to report to CTO by January with a concept. We look forward to involving as many Caribbean countries as possible to work on this pressing connectivity issue and on a scheme to establish new multi-island tourism promotions. This will also attract new markets for our region.”
When eTurboNews Publisher asked about combining a new ferry network with airport hubs, IATA was not excited about it, but both the ministers from Cayman and Jamaica liked the idea.
Jamaica and Barbados have already reached out to new markets, including Africa, the Gulf Region, and Saudi Arabia and Asia. The idea is to get more tourism opportunities for the Caribbean besides the traditional North American and European markets.
The new initiative, “Reimagine,” will partner with the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC).
GTRCMC is hosted by the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, and already has ten resilience centers established worldwide.
A conference in Montego Bay on February 10-12 will open up new markets, show the region’s resilience, and celebrate Global Tourism Resilience Day. The Caribbean Tourism Organization and the World Travel Awards, among others, are partners with GTRCMC.
The video is a full transcript of today’s closing press conference, starting with an update from IATA and a report by the new CTO Chairman and Cayman Islands Minister of Tourism.
The press conference was concluded with an introduction to the newly-elected Youth Minister of Tourism for the Caribbean from Tobago.
