Charles Fernandez, the Tourism Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, is leading the country’s delegation at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) State of the Tourism Industry conference.

The conference is taking place in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Fernandez is accompanied by Colin C. James, the Chief Executive Officer of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, and other officials.

This is the first CTO meeting in five years, and it marks the return of the organisation’s flagship event, the SOTIC. The event is taking place at The Shore Club in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands.

The CTO brings together government and private sector tourism leaders from its member nations to collaboratively examine tourism investment and financing in the Caribbean.

This year’s theme is “Invest. Innovate. Inspire – A New Model for Caribbean Tourism Growth.” The conference provides stakeholders with a unique opportunity to explore ways to invigorate the Caribbean tourism industry and establish efficient frameworks for prosperous public-private partnerships.

The two-day conference, which follows two days of destination briefings for members of the media and business meetings, focuses on two main topics.

On Wednesday, the presentations and panels focused on “Tourism Investment and Financing in the Caribbean.”

On Thursday, the overarching topic is “Drivers for Caribbean Tourism Growth.”

Minister Fernandez is one of the featured speakers at a panel discussion on Thursday on “Aviation Competitiveness in the Caribbean.” The other panelists include Peter Cerdá, Regional VP, Americas, International Air Transport Association (IATA), and Rafael Echevarne, Executive Director, Airports Council International – Latin America & the Caribbean. Donovan White, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism, will serve as moderator for this important discussion.

Journalists from the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as local media, were welcomed yesterday by Josephine Connolly, Minister of Tourism for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

She presented a comprehensive overview of the archipelago’s tourism product, its culture and history, and plans for sustainable development of its lifeblood industry.

After the presentation, invited media received destination briefings and updates from tourism representatives of other CTO member countries and territories in attendance, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Martin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Tobago.