From your position, how do you foresee the future of CTO in the midst of the ongoing international scenario, so marked by a looming crisis that could really hit the travel industry hard?

It has never been more crucial to have an organization like the CTO to serve as an advocate and voice for the Caribbean region and to work tirelessly in conjunction with our private sector partners to advance the Caribbean brand. History tells us that market behavior is cyclical; this holds true for the economy, threats to international peace and currency fluctuations.

Our region adapts, as do our consumers; what’s important is for us to continue to monitor the trends, learn from them, and provide a consistently high-quality vacation experience that offers great value for money. We must be aggressive about promoting the considerable competitive advantages of the Caribbean and ensuring that we continue to stimulate demand.

Will you embrace the projects that Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace was spearheading as Secretary General of CTO ?

Minister Vanderpool-Wallace during his tenure as the Secretary General of the CTO was instrumental in initiating and guiding a number of programs that have become the mainstay of Caribbean tourism marketing. His vision for using the combined strength of our region’s public and private sectors to create a powerful Caribbean brand has been endorsed, embraced and perpetuated by the CTO.

I feel a certain responsibility to pursue these programs and to build upon them, even as we develop further strategies to keep in step with the changing realities. A few years ago CTO mapped out a strategy aimed at boosting up market diversification, the opening of new options and the tapping of new destinations other than the English-speaking Caribbean, while giving Europe a bigger role in this effort.

How has this initiative been going?

What outcomes have been reaped so far?

The CTO has representation in all of Europe ’s key source markets. In addition to very active UK and Holland Chapters, we maintain aggressive representation in Germany , and this year appointed representatives in Paris to look after the Latin markets of France, Italy and Spain. These initiatives cater to our English, Dutch, Spanish and French-speaking Caribbean countries. Additionally, the new Caribbean logo is translated and promoted in these source markets and the new website has been created in various languages.

Our exploration of new markets as well as new niches in traditional markets is also proving to be of benefit to a cross-section of our members, many of whom depend upon this diversity for their success. The U.S. recession, coupled with skyrocketing oil and fuel prices, has sent some negative ripples all over the tourism sector.

How much of an impact do you foresee for the Caribbean region? What particular strategy will CTO embrace to stave this off?

These matters, particularly the impact of the rising fuel prices and the state of the U.S economy, have engaged the attention of the CTO and our members for quite some time. While it is still early to assess the impact of the current financial crisis on travel to the Caribbean, we believe that our region —by virtue of its proximity to the United States and the value of the product we offer— will have a considerable advantage over our competitors.

Like the cost of fuel, the world financial situation affects everyone, not just the Caribbean. Our countries have been aggressive about tackling the air service issues head-on, assuring that shortfalls from one carrier have been supplemented by service from another. Equally important, our region has continued to diversify our sources of business so that when one market softens we still have others to rely upon. The recent performance of Canada is a good example of this strategy paying off. Others include our increasing strength in Europe and our return to South America.

How has CTO contributed to further develop the regional travel industry?

As an organization that has existed for over 50 years, there is no doubt that CTO’s contribution to the Caribbean ’s tourism sector has been significant. We are the region’s tourism development agency, providing services that range from marketing and human resource development, to sustainable tourism development, research, information management, resource management, advocacy at the highest levels and the latest in technology. We have developed systems on which our members often model their own operations.

Last year, we created a partnership with the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) called the Caribbean Tourism Development Company. The CTDC is a marketing and business development company that is jointly and equally owned by the CTO and CHTA. In March of this year, we launched a consumer website at www.CaribbeanTravel.com in the U.S and upgraded its counterpart www.caribbean.co.uk as a central portal to all things related to Caribbean travel. Many destinations are putting their money on Europe as an outbound market.

However, the U.S. continues to be a major market for the entire region. What’s CTO ’s stance in this particular issue?

We covered this in some of the items above. One of CTO’s primary purposes is to help, through tourism, to bring about improvements in the standard and quality of life in the Caribbean.

One way of achieving this goal is to assist our member countries to improve the return on the investments they make in tourism. Diversifying the source markets is part of that strategy, while of course also protecting the region’s competitive position in the traditional markets.

Where is CTO taking its main promotional and advertising campaigns right now? What outbound markets and destinations are those campaigns homing in on?

We’re focusing our promotions on core traditional markets in North America, the UK and Europe, while we explore opportunities in South America and conduct the necessary feasibility on the growing markets in Asia.

How is collaboration between CTO and CHTA going as we speak?

What future perspectives are in the pipeline, especially for the Latin American region?

CTO and CHTA work closely together in marketing the Caribbean, and overall, protecting and promoting the interests of our members.

The Caribbean Tourism Development Company was responsible for staging the hugely successful first Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit (ACTS) in Washington, DC in June, the creation and management of the region’s primary website www.CaribbeanTravel.com, the publication of CaribbeanTravel.com the Magazine, the creation of the Million Home newspaper campaign, the management of an extensive public relations campaign through Lou Hammond & Associates, and other initiatives that are aimed at promoting, protecting, advancing and enhancing the Caribbean brand.