CTO Secretary-Basic Dona Regis-Prosper, (fifth from left) with senior tourism officers in New York final week.
Photograph courtesy CTO
Caribbean Week in New York (CWNY 2025) concluded on Thursday, June 5, with excessive reward from Caribbean Tourism Group (CTO) Chairman Ian Gooding-Edghill, who declared the 2025 version a strong testomony to regional unity, strategic imaginative and prescient, and forward-thinking management.
“That is my first Caribbean Week as chairman of the CTO, and primarily based on all of the suggestions we acquired, it went extraordinarily properly,” stated Gooding-Edghill, who additionally serves as minister of Tourism and Worldwide Transport for Barbados. “We’re actually delighted that we’ve had so many members (over 200) registered. It additionally tells us that the group goes in the suitable path.”
Held underneath the theme “Caribbean Resilience: Crafting Tomorrow’s Tourism,” the CTO stated the week introduced collectively tourism leaders, cultural influencers, and media stakeholders for a sequence of high-level discussions, workshops, and networking occasions centered on shaping the area’s tourism future.
CTO stated one of many occasion’s highlights was the Council of Ministers and Commissioners Assembly.
“We have been within the session for simply over 4 hours, which speaks to the worth of the contributions at that assembly. We’ve additionally particularly laid out further work that the CTO should undertake on (behalf of members),” stated Gooding-Edghill.
Andrea Franklin, CEO of Barbados Tourism Advertising and marketing, Inc., presided over the Board of Administrators assembly as chairman of the CTO Board.
Gooding-Edghill emphasised the significance of sturdy analysis and information in strategic planning.
“Analysis performs a major position in our day-to-day enterprise … and we mentioned how we are able to finetune and get further information and metrics … and plan strategically to advance the Caribbean’s pursuits,” he stated.
CTO stated Caribbean Week additionally marked the launch of the CTO’s Reimagine Plan (2025-2027), which seeks to offer the CTO’s strategic path for the following three years.
CTO stated it’s anchored by 5 key pillars: advocacy, market competitiveness, tourism intelligence, sustainable and regenerative tourism, and other people improvement.
“We are going to proceed to give attention to the Reimagine program. It’s an thrilling time for us as CTO … ever so typically you must look again, and you must look internally and see the place you might be and the place you need to go … and that’s the Reimagine plan for us,” stated Chairman Gooding-Edghill.
The CTO chairman additionally highlighted the growing engagement of the CTO’s Allied Members, emphasizing their essential position in selling locations and supporting the broader Caribbean tourism sector.
He counseled their contributions throughout the devoted discussion board “Past Borders: Positioning the Caribbean Tourism Business in a Shifting Journey Panorama,” noting that the discussions have been insightful and extremely related to the trade’s present challenges.
The chairman additionally addressed intra-regional journey, acknowledging progress and the work forward. “Connectivity inside the Caribbean continues to be a problem … now we have to make sure that we enhance connectivity and there’s a CTO Airlift Committee … tasked with not solely bringing options to the desk but in addition making suggestions to advance larger connectivity.”
Waiting for the 2025 State of the Tourism Business Convention (SOTIC) in Barbados, slated for the Fall, Gooding-Edghill signaled that connectivity, tourism progress, and financial linkages can be central to discussions.
“The one approach you’ll be able to develop your tourism enterprise is by growing spend or by driving further site visitors to the vacation spot, and we consider in each,” he stated. “And naturally, making certain that now we have a robust linkages program with the agriculture, manufacturing sectors inside the Caribbean in order that we are able to retain extra of the overseas trade that’s spent inside the Caribbean.”
Reflecting on the week’s broader influence, the chairman famous that one key takeaway was the chance for professionals throughout the trade to attach and trade concepts.
He emphasised that past networking, the occasion provided useful insights into rising tendencies, with the range of panelists and audio system highlighting the CTO’s forward-looking imaginative and prescient.
“I prolong heartfelt because of Minister Ian Gooding-Edghill and CEO Andrea Franklin for his or her excellent management all through Caribbean Week in New York,” stated CTO Secretary-Basic & CEO Dona Regis-Prosper.
“Their imaginative and prescient, power, and dedication to advancing regional collaboration and sustainable progress have been evident in each facet of this yr’s occasion,” she added. “We’re charting a daring and inclusive path ahead for Caribbean tourism, and the success of Caribbean Week 2025 displays the power of that path.”
