Saint Lucia has been voted in as chair of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with the election of its Minister of Tourism Dominic Fedee, ending the two-year term of the Bahamas, which ascended to the position in Barbados in 2016.
His election took place October 2 at the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort where the CTO held its annual general meeting ahead of the official opening of the State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC).
The Saint Lucian minister has named Tiffany Howard, the acting chief executive officer of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, as chairman of the CTO board of directors, since, according to the CTO constitution, the board chairman and the chairman of the Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism must come from the same member country.
In addition to the election of the chairman, vice chairs were elected to serve on the executive committee of the board of directors to represent various sub-groups - Curacao, representing the Dutch Caribbean; Haiti representing the French Caribbean; Bahamas and Jamaica, representing the independent Caribbean Community countries and the Cayman Islands representing the British Overseas Territories. This committee will be completed with representatives from the private sector.
The vote was in keeping with the CTO constitution which mandates that elections must be held every two years and that the chairman cannot serve consecutive terms.
This year’s conference at the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort is organized in collaboration with the Bahamas’ ministry of tourism and is sponsored by Martinique’s Aimé Césaire International Airport, Cititech Solutions, JetBlue and Delta Air Lines, with support from American Airlines, Bahamas Air, Caribbean Airlines and InterCaribbean Airways.
For more information, visit sotic.onecaribbean.org.
Related Stories
Saint Lucia Properties Are Providing a Vacation Guarantee for Hurricane Season
St Lucia Enters the 21st Century With the Airport Its Visitors Need - and Deserve
CTO State of the Tourism Industry: The Latest Post-Hurricane Caribbean Updates
Caribbean Tourism Organization Mourns Loss of WIADCA President