UN World Tourism Organization sees CTO as global model for regional cooperation

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – The world’s leading international tourism organization has described the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) as a global model on regional cooperation.

Speaking at the opening of the Caribbean Tourism Summit and Outlook Seminar here, Taleb Rifai, the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization – a United Nations agency (UNWTO), identified CTO as the best example of a regional body bringing small destinations together for a common purpose.

“I always use the example of [the] CTO in trying to show the rest of the world how a region can come together and how a brand that is a regional one can become as strong as one wants it to be and everybody benefits as opposed to being competitors in one region,” the UNWTO chief told delegates gathered at the Ritz Carlton Gold & Spa Resort for this meeting of tourism sector leaders and policy makers.

“The world cannot anymore survive with competitions that are of a small and insignificant nature. What’s good for my neighbor is good for me, without doubt,” he added.

During the 2-day event, (June 15 and 16), delegates attending the Caribbean Tourism Summit and Outlook Seminar examine several issues critical to Caribbean tourism, with a great degree of attention being placed on facilitating intra-regional travel.

The summit is a joint effort between Jamaica and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), both of which are observing golden jubilees, with support from the CTO, the international agency responsible for developing Caribbean tourism.

See a video clip of Taleb Rifai at the Caribbean Tourism Summit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCjAU8vaSCM&list=UUmSNtuF5gjsZJh-TzrE3Reg&index=1&feature=plpp_video .