Tourism talks on the cards

CARIBBEAN AND GLOBAL tourism thought leaders gather in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands next month to discuss and devise strategies to position Caribbean tourism for major change.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) will bring together speakers of international and regional acclaim from various fields linked to tourism to provide best case practices and winning strategies on a wide range of issues that impact the region’s primary money earner.
The conference theme aligns with the organization’s own 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, while the conference 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,” Riley said.
“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 line-up of presenters that include representatives from some of the world’s major brands, including Google.  Riley said the Caribbean has a lot to gain by involving these brand leaders in SOTIC.
“The Caribbean brand is very proud and pleased to work with other strong brands to make sure that we get the point across that we are associating ourselves with the experts across this industry and across the world so that we can give this information to the people of the Caribbean and we can benefit from the vast amounts of expertise that exist within and outside our region,” the secretary general said.
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 from September 17 to 19.  
SOTIC is the Caribbean’s leading tourism conference. It brings together Caribbean tourism practitioners, policy makers, strategic partners from the public and private sectors, academics and travel professionals, at the highest levels, to discuss issues, identify solutions and generally develop courses of action that will benefit the region’s tourism industry. (PR)