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All is set for STC-14 in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobgo is readying itself to welcome delegates to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)'s 14th Sustainable Tourism Conferene (STC-14).
The finishing touches are being made to the preparations for the 15-18 April conference at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain. The conference will explore ways in which the Caribbean can enhance destination sustainability and competitiveness in the current global environment, by examining a number of critical issues. The programme will feature panel discussions, workshops and other interactive sessions.
Carlos Vogeler, the regional director for the Americas at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) - the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism – will deliver the keynote address. Mr. Vogeler has been stressing the need for tourism planners and practitioners to embrace both the technological and climatic changes that impact on sustainability, and to manage the uncertainties with innovation and a renewed vision. He has also called on tourism-related businesses to be sensitive to the needs of the community even while they focus on profit and return on investment. The feature speaker will be Jake Kheel, the environmental director at the Punta Cana Resort and Club in the Dominican Republic. He will present specific examples of solutions that the company has developed in response to some of the tourism industry’s greatest social and environmental challenges. His focus will be on what the sector should aspire to be, rather than on what it shouldn’t be.
The youth forum takes a much livelier and exciting form this year. Themed, “The Wisdom of our Next Generation – Sustaining our Tourism with YOU-th,” it provides an opportunity for the region's youth to present their perspectives on sustainable tourism through drama.
A full day of study tours has been planned to reveal the diversity of the host country and the various sustainability models being employed there. These study tours are among the most sort after aspects of the STC programme, with delegates consistently rating them as the most rewarding sessions.
The regional carriers, Caribbean Airlines and Liat, as well as US carrier, United, are all offering special fares for STC-14. The Hyatt has also extended its special conference rates to 11 April. For details, as well as how you can participate, please visit the confernce site,
Tourism Satellite Accounts discussed at two day meeting
The secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Hugh Riley, has again emphasized the organization’s commitment to ensuring that “member-countries – the policy-makers as well as regular citizens of the Caribbean – are in possession of the tools to allow them to make informed decisions."
He was speaking at the official opening of a two day high-level meeting on “Harmonizing Regional Tourism Statistics through Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSAs)” at the CTO headquarters in Barbados. The meeting, organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) in cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), wexamined the diagnosis and way forward in preparation and maintenance of a well-coordinated system of TSAs in the Caribbean.
TSAs, according to the secretary general, “use a properly designed system of national accounts, to explicitly identify and quantify the transactions related to tourism activity.”
In March 2011, the CTO signed an agreement with the IDB to execute the “Regional Tourism Satellite Account Implementation Initiative.” In keeping with the terms of the agreement, a Regional Technical Coordinating Committee was formed to oversee the development of the TSA on a region-wide basis. CTO’s head of research, Winfield Griffith says the region is well on its way to developing TSAs.
“The two day meeting brought the technical and administrative heads of tourism together to plan a way forward,’ Mr. Griffith said.
Participants and organisers, through evaluation of the meeting, expressed satisfaction and were unanimous that the meeting met their expectation.
Awards for the best among German media
A large number of journalists, as well as delegates and representatives of CTO member countries atteding ITB , gathered at the Caribbean Village for the CTO German Media Award Ceremony during the recent travel trade show in Berlin.
This year, awards were given for the best features in newspaper, magazine and broadcast categories (see above).
The awards programme at ITB recognizes leading German journalists for the best stories about the Caribbean. It also provides an opportunity for Caribbean participants at ITB to meet with these top media practitiners and share information on their destinations.
Carol Hay, CTO’s director of marketing for UK & Europe, thanked the journalists for helping tell the Caribbean's story, and she encuraged them to keep writing about the Caribbean. Ms. Hay also thanked the sponsors for the immense support. Sponsors of this year’s event were TUI, Condor, Magdalena Grand Hotel in Tobago and the San Juan Marriott Resort inPuerto Rico, which provided the winners with complementary flights and accommodation.
New & improved programme for Caribbean Week in New York

CTO has launced a programme for Caribbean Week in New York which includes some exciting and unmatched new events and some refreshed and improved familiar ones. Caribbean Week in New York runs from 1-8 June, with most events taking place at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan.
A sensational holiday fair at which prospective travellers to the Caribbean can purchase special deals is just one of the new elements to the week which has become one of the most important events on the tourism calendar in the “Big Apple”. The OneCaribbean Vacation Mart will offer specially priced Caribbean holidays and indigenous Caribbean products available only during Caribbean Week. Couples will also have the opportunity to purchase that perfect getaway at the Caribbean Romance Pavilion which will be part of the Vacation Mart. Professional retail travel agents will close the sales in an environment that evokes the colours and energy of the Caribbean. The One Caribbean Vacation Marketplace takes place on Wednesday 5 June from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the New Yorker Hotel on 8th Avenue, New York.
Another exciting event to look for is Rum & Rhythm, which takes place from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm on Friday 7 June at the Tribeca 360 on 10 Desbrosses Street in New York. There, rum and food lovers will sample top-shelf, award-winning Caribbean rums and enjoy traditional Caribbean cuisine and rum-infused delicacies prepared by celebrity chefs from the Dutch, English, French and Spanish Caribbean. They’ll also mix and mingle with celebrated Caribbean entertainers, rum aficionado and renowned Caribbean personalities at the quintessential Caribbean experience.
The full schedule of events for Caribbean Weeek in New York is at or you may call the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s New York office at (212) 635-9530.
Meantime, CTO continues to receive submissions for the Travel Writer/Photograher Awards, with winners announced at a luncheon on Thursday 6 June. Awards will be presented Best Feature Article in a Consumer Newspaper; Best Feature Article in a Consumer Magazine; Best Feature Article in a Trade Publication; Best Photograph in Conjunction with a Feature Article; Best Feature Broadcast; Best Online Feature; Best Feature by a US Journalist that appeared in Foreign Media; Best Feature by a foreign Journalist that appeared in US Media and Best Feature by Caribbean Journalist. The deadline for receipt of entries is Friday 3 May. A full description of criteria and submission guidelines can be found at
With the exception of the Best Feature by Caribbean Journalist category, similar awards will be presented to Canadian journalists during Caribbean Week in Toronto, on Thursday 27 June. Plans are at an advanced stage for the event on 26 and 27 June.
The deadline for the receipt of submissions for the Toronto awards is Friday 17 May. Please send all submissions to
April 15th deadline for applications for scholarship and grants
The deadline is approaching for the receipt of applications by the CTO Foundation for all schoarhips and grants. Caribbean nationals who wish to apply for support for the next academic year have until 15 April to submit applications. The region’s tourism development agency, through its scholarship programme, the CTO Foundation, is awarding scholarships of up to US$12,000 to individuals wanting to study tourism or hospitality at the Master’s (post graduate) level, and language training for persons already working in the tourism sector.
In addition, the CTO Foundation is offering study grants of up to US$2,500 to individuals pursing tourism/hospitality studies at the certificate, diploma, associate degree or first degree level. Studies can be pursued both within and outside the Caribbean region.
The CTO Foundation also offers a scholarship of up to US$2,500 in the name of Arley Sobers, CTO’s former director of research and information management. Mr. Sobers, who passed away in an untimely manner in 2008, dedicated over two decades of his working life in the service of the CTO. This scholarship is for persons working in local tourism organizations such as the ministry of tourism or the board of tourism, who wish to strengthen their skills in the areas of research and statistics.
A scholarship of up to US$7,500 is also being offered in the name of the late Audrey Palmer Hawks, the past director general of the Caribbean Tourism Association, which eventually merged in 1989 with the Caribbean Tourism Research and Development Centre to form the CTO. Audrey Palmer Hawks was responsible for marketing the Caribbean region as a tourist attraction to travellers in the United States and Canada.
And for Caribbean nationals wishing to pursue a bachelor’s degree programme in Hospitality/ Tourism Management, the Foundation offers scholarships for full-time study at Monroe College in New York (www.Monroecollege.edu), at its campus in Saint Lucia, or for the college’s online course. This scholarships are for first time students only.
This offer comes as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Monroe College and the CTO in 2011. The MOU established a three year agreement for scholarships and study grants to support students from the Caribbean to advance their tourism/hospitality education at Monroe College. Scholarship awards will range from US$4,500.00 to US$18,660.00 annually, equally distributed over three semester. The funds are to offset student tuition expenses at Monroe College.
More than 190 Caribbean nationals have benefitted from the CTO scholarship and grants programme to the tune of over US$760,000 since the CTO Foundation was founded in 1997.
For more information, visit
CTO's communications specialists leads PR & writing seminar at UWI Mona
More than a hundred Jamaicans, including journalism and public relations students, as well as PR practitioners and travel industry officials, packed a Montego Bay conference room for the first ‘International Writing and Public Relations’ seminar from the University of the West Indies-Mona, Western Jamaica Campus. The CTO's communication specialist and multiple award-winner, Johnson JohnRose, led the seminar on 26 March, which focused largely on standing out with a public relations message in a crowded marketplace.
"You have to be different,” said JohnRose. “Find creative ways to stand out from the crowd and get noticed.” He also urged the public relations professionals gathered at the seminar to “"think like a reporter.”
“It means being able to separate real news about your company from promotional puffery; being able to deliver a sharp story angle that will be of real interest to the news reading or viewing public and being able to deliver this angle in a professional, courteous way,” he advised.
Johnson then welcomed four other media professionals to probe the topic: ‘Writing for Tourism’ and ‘What Gets Thrown in File 13.’ The Gleaner’s corporate affairs editor, Barbara Ellington; New York City radio talk-show host, Irwine Clare; Montreal-based freelance writer, Melanie Reffes and CaribPR and News Americas’ founder, Felicia Persaud, each weighed in on the topic, offering valuable tips to the seminar participants on what not to include in press releases.
Ellington cautioned public relations officers to avoid sending the same press release to varied editors at the newspaper and sending photographs that tell no story.
Clare shared an insight into the radio market in the Caribbean American community of New York City, telling those gathered that press releases would not work with this group, citing the emphasis on infomercials.
Reffes cautioned PR practitioners against use of terms such as “iconic,” “opening later this year,” “for the first time ever” and “soon.”
“Buzz words have no news value,” said Reffes.
Persaud, for her part, urged seminar delegates, to know their audience – both the media and the audience that media reaches – before sending out media releases.
“Geo target,” she said. “There is no one size fits all rule! Each media is different and each media market is different.”
The NYC-based journalist turned media entrepreneur, also urged PR representatives to also learn to write for the digital era, ensuring their press releases are search engine optimized and adding external links to press release headlines and leads to increase rankings.
The seminar, which received rave reviews, was organized by UWI students Janet Silvera, Karesha Allen and Odette Soberam Dyer for the project ‘Forging New Paths in Education.’ It was sponsored by the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Sandals Resorts International, Caribbean Airlines, Glamour Destination Management and the Jamaica Tourist Board.
CTO TV programme to discuss Caribbean travel safety
CTO's first "live" television programme for the year will be broadcast on Wednesday night, 10 April. The programme is being produced in collaboration with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) and will be aired in over 20 Caribbean countries on the CMC's cable channel, Carib Vision.
Wednesday's programme dubbed, Movement of our People, will examine a number of issues regarding Caribbean travel, including the much talked about San Juan Accord and a single Caribbean entry visa for ease of travel. Among the panellists are Michael Jones, the director of the Caribbean Community's Joint Regional Communications Centre, the regional agency tasked with receiving, analysing and disseminating passenger information to assist border security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies in creating a safe, stable and secure environment; Nigel Harris, the manager of Fly Montserrat; and the Caribbean businessman, Robert Pitcher, the director of Fun and Sun Publishing. The programme will be aired at 8:00 P.M. and you can participate by posting questions or comments on Facebook ( via email () or the old fashion way, via telephone (1-855-213-7500) / March 2013 ISSUE:
Highlights:
Trinidad and Tobago
High level meeting on TSA
German media awarded
What's new at Caribbean Week
CTO for scholarships & grants
Comm Specialist @ UWI Mona
Destination Caribbean back on TV
CTO TV
Watch this Caribbean Passport special on STC-14



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The Caribbean Tourism Organization's exists to increase significantly the inclusion of the Caribbean region in the set of destinations being considered by travellers. CTO's envisions the global recognition of the Caribbean as a growing set of places and experiences that people feel compelled to enjoy in their lifetime.
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