AIRLIFT TOPS REGIONAL TOURISM SUMMIT AGENDA IN MONTEGO BAY –  The issue of airlift was among the main agenda items during the Caribbean Tourism Summit & Outlook Seminar 2012, which was held over two days, June 15-16 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort in Montego Bay. Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill (third left) poses with panelists (left to right) Colm Lacy, Head of Commercial, Gatwick, British Airways; Julie Reifer-Jones, Chief Financial Officer and Acting CEO, LIAT; Allen Chastenet, Former Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviaition, St. Lucia and Chairman of the Board, Coco Palm; David Clark, Director of Planning, JetBlue Airways; Bruce Nobles, Former President and CEO, Air Jamaica and President & Founder, The Renwick Company and John Lynch, Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board. Mr. Nobles moderated a lively and engaging panel discussion on airlift in the region.

TOURISM IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF MANY CARIBBEAN ECONOMIES – David Scowsill (center), President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), and Taleb Rifai (left), Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in conversation with Hugh Riley, Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), following the opening of the Caribbean Tourism Summit & Outlook Seminar 2012. The Caribbean remains the most tourism dependent region in the world, and in 2011, Travel & Tourism directly and indirectly accounted for over 2 million jobs or 12 percent of total employment. The Caribbean Tourism Summit & Outlook Seminar was organized by Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), in conjunction with the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, Jamaica and the Jamaica Tourist Board.

JAMAICA WELCOMES CARIBBEAN TOURISM SUMMIT DELEGATES TO MONTEGO BAY – Jamaica’s Minster of Tourism and Entertainment Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill John Lynch delivers the welcome address for the Caribbean Tourism Summit and Outlook Seminar in Montego Bay. Minister McNeill said the Summit was timely following on the heels of the recent T20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Mexico.  Presenters at the two-day seminar included some of the best tourism minds from around the world including representatives from organizations such as the World Tourism Organization, the world Travel & Tourism Council, Hilton International, Choice Hotels International and JetBlue Airways.

INAUGURAL CARIBBEAN TOURISM SUMMIT & OUTLOOK SEMINAR CONVENED IN MONTEGO BAY – Jamaica’s Director of Tourism John Lynch speaks with World Travel and Tourism Council’s President and CEO, David Scowsill following his keynote presentation at the Caribbean Tourism Summit & Outlook Seminar 2012 on Friday, June 15 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The two-day seminar brought together some of the top players in the travel and tourism industry from across the region, Europe, the United States and South America to discuss critical issues including airlift and travel facilitation policies.