Caribbean tourism planners and practitioners are being told that the region has little option but to beat the odds the industry faces.
Some of the industry’s most creative thinkers and doers will meet in St. Kitts next month to formulate winning strategies for the sector. The State of the Industry Conference, organised by the region’s tourism development agency, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, has as its theme, Developing a Winning Strategy.
Secretary general Hugh Riley says the theme is relevant due to the fact that the Caribbean is the world’s most tourism dependent region.
“We have to win,” Mr. Riley said. “The Caribbean is the most tourism-depended region in the world. For us, this is not a sideline, this is not a hobby, this is the core of our livelihood and we had better know how to develop strategies that win in the tourism industry which is an extremely competitive business. So we are fighting and we have to win.”
Industry leaders
The State of the Industry conference brings together about 300 tourism industry leaders from the more than 30 member-countries of the organisation, as well as representatives of the regional and international private sector, academics and members of the media. Billed as three days of provocative discussions and spirited debates about the biggest issues affecting the region’s primary revenue earner, it will be the first official appearance of the new Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s Council of Ministers ad Commissioners who will be elected on 10 October and who will serve for a period of two years.
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