Caribbean Tourism Organization Awards Scholarships, Grants

The Caribbean Tourism Organization Scholarship Foundation is awarding two scholarships and three study grants for 2020/21 despite the fundraising challenges that the organisation has endured during the COVID-19 crisis. 

The five students receiving funds will be studying tourism and hospitality management as well as culinary arts at universities in the U.S., the Caribbean and Ireland.

The main aim of the CTO Foundation is to provide opportunities for Caribbean nationals to pursue studies in the areas of tourism, hospitality, language training and other tourism-related disciplines. 

The foundation selects individuals who demonstrate high levels of achievement and leadership both within and outside the classroom and who express a strong interest in making a positive contribution to Caribbean tourism.

This year scholarships and grants went to the following Caribbean students:

Antonia Pierre, Dominica, received the Bonita Morgan Scholarship to study tourism management at the University of the West Indies.

Allyson Jno Baptiste, Dominica, was awarded the Audrey Palmer Hawks Scholarship to study hospitality management at Monroe College in New York.  She will begin her studies online.

Jenneil Gardener, Jamaica, will get a study grant for a program in tourism management at the University of the West Indies.

Venessa Richardson, Saint Lucia, gets a study grant for courses in hospitality management at Monroe College in Saint Lucia.

Chelsea Esquivel, Belize, will get a study grant for her studies in culinary and gastronomic sciences at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Galway, Ireland.

The CTO Foundation was established in 1997 as a not-for-profit corporation, registered in the State of New York, and formed exclusively for charitable and educational purposes under Section 501(c)(3) of U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Led by a volunteer board of directors, the foundation’s first set of scholarships and study grants were awarded in 1998.

Since 1998 the CTO Foundation has provided 117 major scholarships and 178 study grants to deserving Caribbean nationals, amounting to over US$1 million. Over the years, major foundation sponsors have included American Express, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Interval International, JetBlue, Royal Caribbean International, The Travel Agent Magazine, LIAT, Architectural Digest, CTO chapters worldwide and numerous allied members.