The Caribbean’s leading public and private sector tourism organisations, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), have agreed to resolve outstanding public/private sector issues and commit to strengthening areas of common action.
The two organisations also committed themselves to a number of joint programmes which they see as enabling the region to build on its recent recovery and growth and to maintain these gains well into the future.

The agreement was reached at a meeting at the CTO Headquarters in Barbados on the 17th February 2004 called by CTO Secretary General Jean Holder and attended by Simón B. Suárez, President of CHA, and Berthia Parle, First Vice President and President-Elect of CHA.

“Both organisations have the goal of advancing Caribbean tourism; working together is the better, most efficient approach,” said Mr. Suárez.

Ms. Parle, who will be installed in June 2004, added that the focus of her two-year term as president of CHA would be bolstering public/private sector cooperation.

“It is important that we send a signal to our governments and our various constituencies that we are moving forward together,” Ms. Parle said.

“We can achieve a lot more for Caribbean tourism by resolving our differences and combining resources on a number of programmes,” added Mr. Holder.

The discussions, also attended by CTO’s Heads of Division, were wide ranging and covered agreement in several areas, including marketing, research, and tourism education.
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