Every Caribbean national,
including our leaders, must see tourism as a top priority because it its
importance to the countries’ economies, the region’s top tourism public
servant has said.
Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Vincent
Vanderpool-Wallace made this statement as he commented on the theme for the CTO’s
28th Annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-28) to be held in the United States
Virgin Islands from October 21-26, 2005.

CTO and the USVI Department of Tourism have announced that the conference theme will
be, Tourism: The Business of the Caribbean.

“We’re focusing primarily on the business of tourism at this year’s
Caribbean Tourism Conference because our industry plays a vital role in
the economic stability of the Caribbean region,” Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace
said.

Tourism accounts for an estimated one in four jobs throughout the region and is
responsible on average for more than 30 per cent of each country’s gross national
product.

“As a result of tourism’s economic impact on the livelihood of people in
the Caribbean, we must stress the importance of making tourism a top
priority from the heads of state down to individual residents in their
homes. Tourism should be present in every facet of our lives,” the
secretary general said.

“We must educate our children about careers in tourism and adequately train
employees already working in the industry. We must capture the attention of our
politicians so that they make tourism a priority on their agendas and in their
budgets,” he concluded.
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