‘Reimagine’ Caribbean tourism to survive global challenges – CTO head

The head of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) has urged Caribbean nations to “reimagine” their approach to tourism; warning that the region’s long-term viability depends on unity, innovation, and a bold shift in how it responds to climate change, geopolitical pressures, and persistent seasonality.

 

Secretary General Dona Regis-Prosper, told the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s fourth quarterly general meeting on Wednesday at Sandals Royal Barbados, that the Caribbean continues to operate in a “complex and shifting landscape,” marked by geopolitical tensions, persistent seasonality, and the escalating impacts of climate change.

 

“The Caribbean faces ongoing challenges… geopolitical issues, seasonality, the constant impact of climate change, as we recognise with our sister destinations such as Jamaica and Haiti, and the frequency and severity of those storms,” she said.

 

Despite those pressures, she stressed that there is one advantage the region can always depend on. “Across all of these challenges, one strategy works for us in the Caribbean, and that is unity, purpose, and partnership that transforms obstacles into opportunity.”

 

Regis-Prosper highlighted the CTO’s recently unveiled Reimagine Plan 2025–2027, launched in New York earlier this year after two years of consultations with tourism ministers, directors, industry leaders, allied partners, and technical experts.

 

“The reimagined plan is our blueprint for making this gathering’s theme a reality,” she explained. “It provides a clear, actionable roadmap for the Caribbean to lead globally in sustainability, resilience, and inclusive tourism.”
The plan is anchored by five strategic pillars: sustainable and regenerative tourism; advocacy; market competitiveness; tourism intelligence; and people development.

 

Regis-Prosper said each pillar responds directly to the evolving needs of the region’s tourism economies.

 

She added that the framework includes a range of initiatives designed to strengthen Barbados’ tourism industry and the wider region — among them boosting airlift and connectivity through strategic partnerships, improving access to regional and extra-regional markets, and building a “future-fit talent framework” to harmonise training across the industry.

 

The CTO is also placing renewed emphasis on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, strengthening ownership opportunities, and enhancing unified advocacy to ensure “the Caribbean voice” is amplified in global aviation, cruise, and international policy spaces.

 

“Innovation, diversity, and sustainability, leading regenerative tourism, community strategies, coastal resilience, and green growth initiatives are central to our future,” she said.

 

But Regis-Prosper cautioned that even the strongest strategy will fall short without regional collaboration.

 

“The Reimagine Plan will only succeed if we execute it together,” she stressed. “This means deep, intentional engagement across sectors — business to government, business to inter-government, business to community.”
With cruise lines, airlines, and international agencies already partnering with the CTO, she urged regional stakeholders to elevate cooperation in this pivotal moment.

 

She said: “Now is the moment to strengthen those partnerships and present the world with one unstoppable Caribbean.”

(SB)