'Creating a brand new Caribbean'

One of the well-appointed rooms at the Sheraton Our Lucaya Resort in Freeport, Grand Bahama where the conference will take place.

The new level of cooperation between the region's tourism public and private sectors will be reflected at this year's leading Caribbean tourism information exchange and networking event, the 29th Annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-29), which is taking place Oct. 22- 25 on Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas.

The stage is already set with the selection of a theme - Cooperation, Innovation, Rejuvenation: Creating a Brand New Caribbean - that encapsulates the current status of Caribbean tourism and invites conference delegates to become centrally involved in the energy that propels this industry, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), organisers of the conference, has said.

spirit of cooperation

"Ever since the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation and Understanding last year, between CTO, the Caribbean's leading tourism development agency, and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), its private sector partner, at CTC-28 in the United States Virgin Islands, the spirit of cooperation has influenced a range of relationships at all levels," said Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary General of the CTO.

"That cooperation has spawned fresh, new thinking and is inspiring tourism practitioners in both the public and private sector to think more creatively and innovatively about the future," added Vanderpool-Wallace. "Industry planners are realising that when the forces of innovation work together, there is no limit to what can be accomplished."

Earlier this year, CTO and CHA obtained joint ownership of the 'Caribbean' brand and launched a new and vibrant Caribbean logo. This new Caribbean brand will also be the focus of the conference theme's double entendre, a 'Brand New' Caribbean.

"CTC-29 will not only provide the opportunity for delegates to participate in the evolution and development of this new 'Caribbean' brand, it will also demonstrate how they can benefit from it in ways, up until now, that never seemed possible," Vanderpool-Wallace said.

The CTO, along with the Islands of the Bahamas, is currently finalising the conference programme, which is also expected to reflect the organisation's dedication to attracting the brightest and sharpest minds to Caribbean tourism in order to help rejuvenate and re-energise the industry while ensuring that visitors to the region enjoy a vacation experience that is of the highest quality.

The Westin and Sheraton Our Lucaya Resort on Grand Bahama Island is the host hotel for the CTC-29, which will be preceded by meetings of the ministers and commissioners of tourism; the board of directors and various CTO committees as well as events for travel agents and the media.