Designed to ensure that Cricket World Cup 2007 benefits all Caribbean Nations, a ministerial sub-committee on the issue was one of the key developments emerging from the ministerial caucus and board of directors meeting at the 28th Caribbean Tourism Conference.

Caribbean Tourism Organization`s Chairman Pamela Richards told the press at the Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort, in St. Thomas, USVI this week that former Secretary General Dr. Jean Holder will continue to represent the CTO Board of Directors with the specific mandate to ensure that the entire region’s economy benefits from the cricket event, at all levels of the nine host nations and beyond.

Ms. Richards added that CTO was also focused on ensuring that the region draws greater advantage from the burgeoning cruise sector with the new tripartite agreement between the CTO, the Caribbean Hotel Association and the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association.

“We are going to be doing a study on the impact of cruise tourism with respect to quantifying passenger spending in each of the destinations,” she said.

Richards, USVI’s Commissioner of Tourism, added that cruise purchases of food and services, the hiring of Caribbean nationals to work on cruise ships, the provision of Caribbean entertainment on ships prior to the departure from the destination and other areas of opportunity that can be maximized to the benefit of the region, will be examined.

Secretary General Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said he would like to see advances in technology incorporated into tourism during the course of the next year to deliver more benefits to Caribbean people at a reduced cost.

Website development for consumers with e-commerce opportunities, dubbed “The Digital Dividend”, and the sharing of best practices for member nations are part of the CTO’s new vision.

The Secretary General also said his organization would be strengthening its public relations charge during the next year. “We need to beef up our resources in that area … so that we are on the offensive as opposed to being on the defensive. In many cases you see the Caribbean being mentioned where we have to react to something.

“There are so many positive things happening in the Caribbean … that we want to begin to collate that information and constantly put it out to the world because we think once that story gets told we will find ourselves in a much better position in terms of taking full advantage of the economic value of reputation.”
It was also announced that the Dominican Republic and Venezuela have reactivated their full membership in the CTO.