The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has announced an impressive speaker lineup for its upcoming Caribbean Week in New York in 2024. This year’s event will feature a diverse range of leaders, including Caribbean Vice-Prime Ministers, a major airline executive, a renowned music producer, world-class Caribbean communications experts and cutting-edge data engineers at the forefront of artificial intelligence development.
Rosa Harris, CTO board chair and Caribbean Week spokesperson, noted strong interest from speakers and panelists. Confirmed speakers include I. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism of the Bahamas, Jose Fraig, American Airlines vice president of international operations, music producer Evan Rogers and managing director Lisa Ann Joseph.
Femi Anthony, director, data engineer and solutions architect at Trinidad and Tobago-based Reputation Management Caribbean Ltd.
“We are excited by the high level of interest in this year’s event and the rapid increase in registrations for our program,” said Harris, noting that rooms at the InterContinental New York Times Square are nearly sold out.
Celebrating its 35th anniversary with the theme “Connecting the Planet, Celebrating Diversity”, Caribbean Week 2024 features a series of dynamic events and business meetings. These sessions will involve the CTO Executive Committee, the Board of Directors and the Council of Ministers. Discussions will focus on the critical issues that shape the development and growth of Caribbean tourism, providing an opportunity for powerful, strategic dialogue.
The week will kick off with a church service and the Business and Tourism Marketing Symposium, and this year will see the return of the Caribbean Media Awards and the highly anticipated Media Marketplace.
In line with its commitment to fostering innovation, the CTO will host a special session dedicated to Artificial Intelligence, highlighting the organisation’s forward-thinking approach. Additionally, the impactful work of the CTO Scholarship Foundation and the recently launched Jean Holder Memorial Scholarship will be highlighted along with the highly-anticipated Women’s Leadership Breakfast Awards.
Speakers for the session have been confirmed as follows:
Leveraging Data for Marketing: Stan Ivankovic, VP of Business Development, Environics Analytics
Caribbean Travel Trends: Bonnie Borkin, Senior Director of Tourism and Enterprise at Adara – RateGain
MICE Marketing: Danny Kohanpour, CEO/Founder, Trove Tourism Development Advisors
Latin American Market: Jackie Santiago, Senior Strategist, PR, CIIC
Unlocking Cruise Potential: Claudine Paul, Founder and CEO of Lemonate, and Wendy McDonald, Vice President of Government Relations in the Caribbean, Royal Caribbean Group
Caribbean Service Excellence: Barry Collymore, proprietor of Mount Cinnamon Beach Resort and founder of the West Indies School of Hospitality (WISH), Bill Clegg, director of regional development at BW Hotels & Resorts, Kashmee Ali, vice president of sales and marketing at Sailrock South Caicos, Marcia James, director of sales and marketing at The Kimberley Hotel, and Joanne Leacock, workforce development consultant and CTO.
Artificial Intelligence: Femi Anthony, Solutions Architect and Data Engineer; Nan-Marchian Beauvois, Hospitality Strategist; Jennifer Bisram, CBS2 News Reporter
Caribbean and African American Marketing: Melissa Noel, Contributing Editor, News & Politics at ESSENCE Magazine, Elinor Tatum, Publisher of the New York Amsterdam News, Irwin Clare, OD, Founder of Team Jamaica Bikuru, Jacqueline Nwobu, CEO of Munaluchi Bride Magazine.
Airlift Forum: Rosa Harris, Cayman Islands CTO, Chairperson of the Board and Director of Tourism; Dave Appleby, Director ASM, Informa PLC Aviation Week Network Air Services Development Consulting; Jose Freig, Vice President, International Operations, American Airlines; I. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism of the Bahamas; Valerie Damasceau, Director of Tourism and Culture, Saint Martin; and Haydyn Hughes, Minister of Tourism and Infrastructure, Anguilla.
Gateway Connections: Mark Walton, associate professor of media management at the New School, music producer Evan Rogers, Frederick A. Morton Jr., chairman and CEO of TEMPO Network LLC, and Christopher Brown, CEO of Buckler Group.
Public Relations and Crisis Communications: Lisa Ann Joseph, Managing Director, Reputation Management Caribbean
Jennifer Maguire, President, JMCPR; CeCe Cerrato, Founder, CeCe C Communications; Marie “Driven” Theodore, Managing Partner, Playbookmg
Caribbean Media Awards: Kenneth Bryan, Chairman, CTO and Minister of Tourism and Ports of the Cayman Islands
Gene Holder Memorial Scholarship Luncheon: Joseph Boschulte, Director of the U.S. Virgin Islands Tourism Board
Smart Destination Management: Nicola Madden Greig, OD, Chairperson, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Jeremy Jones, Corporate Director, Resort Operations, Jamaica, Sandals Resorts International, Josephine Connolly, Minister of Tourism, Turks and Caicos Islands
Travel Industry Marketing: Ruthanne Terrero, Vice President/Editorial Director, Questex Travel Group
The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investment and Aviation is the main sponsor of Caribbean Week in New York. Gold sponsors include the Cayman Islands Tourism Board, Experience Turks and Caicos Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands Tourism Board. Sandals Resorts International is a Silver sponsor. Additional supporters include Caribbean Media Exchange, Diamond International and Marketplace Excellence.
