CTO nixes annual conference for 2019

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) will not hold its annual State of the Industry Conference this year but will return in 2020 with a restructured program, based on a review of past events and input from CTO members, according to a spokesperson.

The CTO’s first annual tourism conference was held in June 1977 in Venezuela, and it has taken place every year since except in 1986 and in 2001, although the conference was renamed the State of the Industry Conference in 2011. Its most recent conference, in 2018, was in the Bahamas.

The CTO will host a forum for government members at the Royalton Antigua Resort Spa in Antigua on Oct. 4 to share information about growth and development plans for the Caribbean market.

And in partnership with the St. Vincent The Grenadines Tourism Authority, the CTO will host the Sustainable Tourism Conference in St. Vincent on Aug. 26 through 29. The event will examine issues that impact on the future growth of Caribbean tourism, including climate change, resource management and community involvement.

Elizabeth Thompson, Barbados’ ambassador to the United Nations, will deliver the keynote address.