ASTA’s vision for the Caribbean

Following the Caribbean ministers’ decision to throw their support behind the economic sustainability of the Life Needs The Caribbean regional marketing campaign, the American Association of Travel Agents (ASTA) –one of the mightiest travel authorities in the U.S.- has lined up its support, too.

ASTA’s president and CEO Richard Copland described efforts to put together the Caribbean brand “as a step in the right direction.” In his opinion, cooperation between the public and private sectors in the Caribbean Basin bolsters travel and tours, “contrary to other destinations that squander money in a dog-eat-dog competition among themselves.”

“It’s time to understand we’re all in the same boat,” he said when explaining that ASTA’s membership is equally committed to cooperation for the sake of the traveling public.

Mr. Copland, who’s also co-founder and CEO of Bronx-based Hillside Travel in NYC, forecast a good year for the Caribbean in 2003. “American travelers want to tour closer to home, they want quality time with their relatives and friends, and the Caribbean is the right spot for that.”

ASTA’s associates inform about bulky business operations in the Caribbean in the last three months. “So, once we can remove the ghost of a war in Iraq, I believe we’re going to have a very beefy season in the Caribbean,” Mr. Copland concluded.