For quite a number of years, Hugh Riley acted as Marketing Director for the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) until he was appointed Interim Secretary General following the departure of Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and the passing of Arley Sobers. In this exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital in Bermuda, where he attended the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC), this seasoned industry professional talked about what his organization’s upcoming Caribbean Week in New York and the second Caribbean Tourism Summit slated for Washington DC, both events in the month of June, as well all major challenges for the region in terms of marketing and opportunities amid the ongoing financial crisis.
Caribbean News Digital’s special reporter in Bermuda covered the two-day sessions of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC 2009) and talked with John Maginley, Antigua and Barbuda’s new Minister of Tourism, about the challenge of his new position and the plans he has in store as chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization for the upcoming Second Tourism Summit in the U.S. and the Caribbean Week.
SuperClubs, one of the most successful hotel brands in the Caribbean with a 30-year-plus experience in the industry, is defying the economic uncertainty with innovative ideas and far more expansion in the region and beyond. Quite recently the company tapped Paul Pennicook, a veteran of Air Jamaica and former Tourism Director for Jamaica, as president of International Lifestyle –SuperClubs’ worldwide representative. In this exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital, Mr. Pennicook talks about the challenges on the road ahead for his company and the plans in store for the near future.
The opening of a new airline is always welcome news to break, especially in times of economic and financial hardships that have forced so many competitors to ground aircraft, cut down on the number of flights and even shut down destinations. So, when Caribbean News Digital learned a new low-cost startup from one of the world’s leading outbound markets was planning to kick off operations between Europe and Latin America, a Q & A session with the new company’s CEO and COO brooked no further delay. In this exclusive interview, Olaf Schmidt talks about Air Cosmos’ approach, business intentions, marketing strategies and operational plans in the near future.
Jamaica attended FITUR 2009 with a large delegation headed by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and John Lynch, Director of Tourism and Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). In an exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital, Mr. Lynch talked enthusiastically about his country’s travel industry, its achievements and the prospects for the ongoing year. Mr. Lynch is confident in Jamaica’s potentials as a tourism powerhouse in the Caribbean and so far the numbers are proving him right.
Julia Hendry has put a 30-plus-year experience under her belt while working in the Caribbean’s travel and tourism industry, both in the private and public sectors. She’s one of the most authorized voices in the region in this respect and now that she’s ready to go into semiretirement, she’s also willing to share her valuable knowledge with the new breed of leaders. In this exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital, Mrs. Hendry, who’s still the European marketing director for CTO, reminisces about the past and looks to the future of Caribbean tourism in the face of economic hardships.