CTO’s Chief Calls On the Caribbean to Impress Cricket World Cup Visitors

As the Caribbean is hosting this month’s ICC Cricket World Cup, Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, is encouraging the region to adopt an innovative approach to marketing and delivering services to visitors.

Speaking ahead of the official matches, the leading tourism executive said the Caribbean is the world’s most tourism dependent region, so “we must become the world’s most innovative at tourism. We need to move from a position of follower to leader in global tourism; to do this, we need to get our best and brightest involved.”

Quality service, said Vanderpool-Wallace who hails from the Bahamas, is anticipating the needs of customers and providing those needs before they ask for them. “We should all want to see the Caribbean become the ‘wow factor’ all over the world, and we have a major opportunity over 47 days of cricket.”

To sharpen skills and remain competitive, Vanderpool-Wallace encouraged his member governments to both participate and support youth and media participation at the upcoming editions of Counterpart International’s Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx), which helps shape the outlook of the media and hospitality industry on sustainable tourism development through interactive and stimulating dialogue.

The 10th full edition of CMEx is set for San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 17 thru 21, 2007. Media and tourism delegates from across the region, North America and Europe will examine the theme “Enhancing Culture and Protecting Ecology through Tourism,” exploring topics such as the impact of global warming on small island developing states, protecting and promoting Caribbean cultural tradition, and the impact of HIV/AIDS on Caribbean culture.