Saint Lucia’s Minister with responsibility for Tourism has been voted in as chair of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

Hon. Dominic Fedee was elected by representatives of member countries of the CTO at the State of Tourism Industry Conference taking place at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas. Minister Fedee will serve a two-year term.

Minister Fedee said he was humbled that his colleagues had placed their trust in him. The new chairman added that this provides an opportunity for CTO countries to harmonize their strengths for a collective purpose. He also indicated that no efforts should be spared in utilizing the collaborative efforts of member countries to advance the mandate of the CTO and the tourism industry. The vote is in keeping with the CTO constitution, which mandates that elections must be held every two years and that the chairman cannot serve consecutive terms.

“I’ve always felt that the Caribbean is one of the strongest and most iconic in aspirational travel brands in the world, but also it is the most underutilized. The opportunity exists now for us to ensure that we utilize the strength of the brand for the collective good of the destinations of the Caribbean. I think that the Caribbean is stronger than anyone of our individual destinations and it is important for us now to be strategic, even amid our own set of circumstances of limited budgets, and being from small jurisdictions that have lots of fiscal issues, high debt and low growth in some instances as well. So we’ve got to make sure that tourism is a catalyst to transition the Caribbean out of its current state.”

The CTO Chairman named Chief Marketing Officer of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority Tiffany Howard, as chairman of the CTO Board of Directors. 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, representing various sub-groups - Curacao, representing the Dutch Caribbean; Haiti representing the French Caribbean; the Bahamas and Jamaica, representing the independent Caribbean countries, and the Cayman Islands representing the British overseas territories. This committee will be completed with representatives from the private sector.

“We now have to spare no effort to ensure that we use our collaboration at the CTO level to help advance the wider integration movement. I think we can all be proud if five or ten years from now, the CTO can be seen in the same ilk of West Indies Cricket and the University of the West Indies as success story to unite the Caribbean further.”

The election was held at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island where the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) held its annual general meeting. This was ahead of the official opening of the State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC) which focuses on opportunities for enhancing the region’s tourism product.