CTO State of the Industry Conference in USVI from 17-19 September to examine issues that impact Caribbean’s primary revenue earner.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CTO) — 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 (CTO)’s 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 dovetails nicely 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 them 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 Mr. 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 line-up of presenters that include representatives from some of the world’s major brands, including Google. Mr. Riley has said that 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 17-19 September.

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.

About The Caribbean Tourism Organization

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and offices in New York and London, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of over 30 countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination, and its purpose is Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean.

Among the benefits to its members the organization provides specialized support and technical assistance in sustainable tourism development, marketing, communications, advocacy, human resource development, event planning & execution and research & information technology.

In addition the CTO, in partnership with the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, jointly and equally owns the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, a marketing and business development entity dedicated to promoting the Caribbean brand worldwide.

The CTO’s Headquarters is located at Baobab Tower, Warrens, St. Michael, Barbados BB 22026; Tel: (246) 427-5242; Fax: (246) 429-3065; E-mail: [email protected]

The CTO’s New York office is located at 80 Broad St., Suite 3302, New York, NY 10004, USA: Tel: (212) 635-9530; Fax: (212) 635-9511; E-mail: [email protected]

The CTO’s London office is located at The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1BP, England. Tel: 011 44 208 948 0057; Fax: 011 44 208 948 0067; E-mail: [email protected]

For more information on the Caribbean Tourism Organization please visit www.OneCaribbean.org. Get the latest CTO updates on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ctotourism. Connect with CTO on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CaribbeanTourismOrganization