Q & A with Fernando Abreu, Deputy Director of Marketing, Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
Q & A with Fernando Abreu
Deputy Director of Marketing, Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
By Jose Carlos de Santiago
In his position at CTO, Mr. Abreu is in charge of strategic alliances with other tourism organizations and companies, the ties with travel agents or groups and associations of travel agencies, the support and relationship with CTO’s chapters in different states of USA and Latin America, the Caribbean attendance in main tourism shows in Canada and USA, and the promotion of events organized by CTO, including the Caribbean Week, to be held with a new edition coming in June in New York. This was one of the matters he dealt with during an exclusive interview for Caribbean News Digital, as well as the country’s relationship with Spanish-speaking countries.
How many chapters does the CTO have in the USA and Canada?
We presently have 12 chapters in the United States. We don’t have any in Canada.
Do you have any chapter in Latin America?
We don’t have any chapter in Latin America. We’re working on it. In fact, I’ve recently been to Brazil, in October 2010, and I’m negotiating with representatives of tourism offices from Caribbean countries in Brazil and Argentina, and we’re looking forward to implementing the chapter system in both countries.
Mexico is one of the main outbound markets for the Caribbean and is even part of the Caribbean. So, why don’t you have an office in that country?
I work the Latin American market from our office in New York. We’re working this issue step by step. We’re currently organizing the attendance of several Caribbean countries to FITA, to be held in Mexico, as well as ABAV, in Brazil, and FIT in Argentina.
It’s surprising to see that there only two people in CTO’s staff who come from the Spanish-speaking. Do you think that the presence of more people from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean could contribute to an effective integration of CTO with that zone of sub-region?
Yes, I think it could be. The point is that the organization is short on staff. We count on members from most of the Caribbean islands: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Grenada.
The Annual Conference of Sustainable Tourism, STC, is one of CTO’s most important events and is a key show for the Caribbean due to its subject matter. What do you make of the fact that only one minister and just a few decision makers attended this event in Bermuda?
Though ministers should attend this kind of events, their agendas are sometimes too tight and they can’t participate. The fact is that we counted on the attendance of Tourism Directors from many of our member countries and the technical staff from most of tourism administrations, those who work with the initiatives of Sustainable Tourism Development. We’ll be receiving tourism ministers in the Caribbean Week, in New York. That’s where we’ll have meetings with tourism directors and ministers.
Will the Caribbean Week include the show and celebration format of previous editions?
The week will kick off with meetings of different committees: marketing, sustainable tourism, board of directors. Tourism directors and ministers will gather there. Likewise, we have activities for business and press world. Caribbean Media Marketplace gathers some 125 specialized journalists on travel topics, who are generally interested in networking with tourism directors and ministers. We also have a workshop for travel agents, where the diversity of Caribbean touristic product will be discussed; we have a workshop on e-marketing, social networks for representatives of tourism offices in the United States, which are aimed at the meetings and conventions market for meeting planners and/or MICE market.
There will be another event on the table, Caribbean Rum and Rhythm Celebration, with chefs and figures from the Caribbean exhibiting their dishes. Representatives from Caribbean rum companies will be also attending, and we’ll have folksy celebrations influenced by the Spanish-, English-, French- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. A fair is being planned for the audience and we’re debating where to do it: representatives from Caribbean countries are invited to showcase their culture, their food.
Also attending, tour operators who sell Caribbean destinations and, during the weeklong celebration, they offer special packages for the Caribbean fair, with discounts and value added. It’s an intense week, with plenty of activities, which ends up with a marketing conference in the morning and a gala of Caribbean governments at night, at the Plaza Hotel.
