CTO News

CTO’s Regional Tourism Youth Congress Resumes

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (August 25, 2022) – The Regional Tourism Youth Congress, organised by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), in collaboration with the Cayman Islands Ministry and Department of Tourism, will make a return following a two-year break due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, when it is staged in the Cayman Islands this September.

To date, 11 countries have confirmed their participation for the 18th edition of the Youth Congress, which is scheduled for September 15, as part of the CTO events and Caribbean Aviation Day from September 12-15. Turks & Caicos, the winner of the last Youth Congress staged in Antigua and Barbuda in 2019, is set to chair this year’s Congress.

After two years of inactivity, there is already great enthusiasm surrounding this year’s Youth Congress, and with the tourism sector steadily rebounding, the timing of the event could not be more ideal.

“The Caribbean Tourism Organization is thrilled about the return of the Regional Tourism Youth Congress and despite the break, we as organisers are already envisioning a successful delivery of the event,” said Sharon Banfield-Bovell, CTO’s Director of Resource Mobilization and Development.

“Over the years, the Regional Tourism Youth Congress has been a fundamental part of the region’s tourism development landscape, helping to shape future industry leaders. Therefore, its resumption this year is of special importance, particularly for the region’s young people who annually look forward to participating in this forum and using its platform to incite and inspire change, through their presentations on issues relevant to the growth and sustainability of the tourism sector. CTO is therefore grateful to its member countries and partners for their support and for making another Tourism Youth Congress a reality.”

Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, The ​Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Tobago and Turks and Caicos will join the Cayman Islands as the countries confirmed for this year’s event.

“I am excited to be hosting the Regional Tourism Youth Congress as the event reinforces the Cayman Islands Government’s commitment to the development of the next generation of tourism leaders,” said Hon. Kenneth Bryan, Minister of Tourism and Transport (Cayman Islands).

“The past two years have not only affected tourism, they have also had an unmistakable impact on the youth, especially in areas of education and employment. It is therefore imperative that we come together to ensure the continued growth of the future men and women who will ultimately work to improve our collective tourism products,” Minister Bryan added.

The first Regional Tourism Youth Congress was staged in Barbados in the year 2000, and was conceived with the objective of stimulating a greater awareness among the region’s young people about the tourism sector and its importance. Participants are between the ages of 14-17 and assume the role of Junior Ministers/Commissioners of Tourism, representing their respective CTO member country.

CTO Business Meetings and Caribbean Aviation Day, mark the first major in-person gathering for the CTO since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CTO Launches Integral CBT Online Course

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (August 15, 2022) – The Caribbean Tourism Organization has formally launched its Community-Based Tourism (CBT) Online Course, aimed at strengthening the regional sector through a broadening of the knowledge base and improvement of quality standards.

The Course, developed with the support of UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, was adapted from the Community-Based Tourism Enterprise Handbook, produced with financing from the Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility (CCPF).

Interactive and user-friendly, the Course seeks to assist tourism stakeholders and the business community create and expand their community-based tourism product through practical information and guidelines provided.

It will be hosted through the Caribbean Tourism Institute – the CTO’s online learning platform – and comprises eight micro modules delivered via animated lectures, activity worksheets, case studies, videos and knowledge-test assessments.

CTO’s Acting Secretary General, Neil Walters, said the formulation of the Course was consistent with the organization’s development mandate, a feature of which was the creation of capacity-building tools and delivery of education and training programmes.

“The ability to deliver opportunities for training and in particular, via online learning has become critically important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Walters said.

“This is of strategic importance to the CTO in seeking to ensure that our programmes can be accessed by the widest possible audience of tourism stakeholders across the region.

“CTO also recognizes the value of CBT and the potential it holds to expand the benefits of tourism more directly to local communities and micro, small and medium tourism enterprises.”

Course Modules include Understanding Community-Based Tourism, Planning your CBT Business, Understanding your Markets, Developing your Product, Pricing your Product, Marketing your Product, Developing Financial Management Skills and Health, Safety and Service Standards and Guidelines for CBT.

The Health, Safety and Service Standards and Guidelines chapter, also developed through support from the UNDP, was designed as a guide for the safe delivery of community-based tourism experiences, which has taken on greater significance in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

It outlines trends impacting the tourism sector and community-based tourism in particular while highlighting regional and international best practices related to health, safety and service, and providing recommendations consistent with international standards.

“The current tourism value chain is neither sustainable nor inclusive. Efforts must shift from the traditional ‘three S’s’ – sun, sand and sea – to social inclusion, sustainability, and smart destinations and businesses and that, of course, includes Community Based Tourism (CBT),” said Ugo Blanco, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

“So, knowing the excellent work that the CTO and Compete Caribbean had already done on CBT, for us it felt natural to partner with the CTO. It is hoped that through the new online course, better knowledge and understanding of CBT is spread throughout the region.”

Wayne Elliott, Coordinator of Innovation and Productivity in Caribbean Firms and Clusters at CCPF, described community-based tourism as “a powerful channel for sustainable and inclusive economic development in the Caribbean”, indicating that this was in alignment with CCPF’s mandate.

“CBT enables greater market opportunities for a broad base of local entrepreneurs which in turn create employment opportunities,” Elliott said.

“Moreover, CBT represents an opportunity for regional tourism stakeholders to further diversify and to continue to develop their tourism product offering in a unique and value-added way.

“I wish to congratulate CTO for continuing to advance its work to facilitate and guide the development of community-based tourism in the Caribbean.”

For further information on the CBT Online Course and the Health, Safety and Service Standards and Guidelines chapter please see links: https://tinyurl.com/ctoctionline and https://tinyurl.com/cbthealth.

CTO Statement on the Passing of Mr. Warren Solomon

It is with great sadness that the Caribbean Tourism Organization has learned of the passing of Warren Solomon, a long-time friend of the organization and champion of tourism across the Caribbean.

Warren enjoyed a long and stellar career in tourism, spanning product development, marketing, hospitality, and sales, which made his contribution to the regional sector as far-reaching as it was influential.

He served with distinction in various management positions at tourism entities across the region, most recently as Director of the Montserrat Tourism Division and prior to this as Director of Tourism at the Tobago House of Assembly, Vice President & Director of Tourism at the Tourism & Industrial Development Company of Trinidad & Tobago, and Marketing Manager at the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.

Warren also made an invaluable contribution as a Board member of the CTO, his deep insight, keen acumen, and sincere commitment helping to strengthen the organization. His love of the Caribbean and desire for its sustainable growth through tourism and related means were unmatched, making him a unique asset to the region.

Warren was truly a standard-bearer for the regional tourism sector and will be sorely missed.

On behalf of the CTO Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism, the CTO Board of Directors and the staff at the CTO Secretariat, we wish to convey sincere condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.

May he rest in peace.