CHTA presented a paper to attendees at a Capitol Hill Briefing in Washington D.C. urging the creation of a Caribbean-U.S. public-private sector dialogue and a framework for a Caribbean-United States tourism action agenda to strengthen Caribbean engagement with the U.S.

Maintaining that tourism presents the Caribbean with the quickest way to create jobs, reduce public debt and stimulate new business activity, CHTA’s CEO and Director General Frank Comito stated, “A new demand-driven public-private sector approach and resolve by the region’s leadership, the United States and other major global tourism trading partners is necessary for the countries throughout the region to maximize the benefits from tourism and for the United States to further benefit from a more secure, stable and prosperous Caribbean.” Organized by Caribbean-Central American Action and the Inter-American Development Bank, attendees included representatives from the United States Congress and U.S. Administration, private sector leaders, the diplomatic community and representatives from Washington’s multilateral institutions.

Joining Comito at the briefing was CHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy and Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, a member of the CHTA Board of Directors and chair of the organization’s Government Relations Committee. Comito called on stakeholders to explore opportunities and challenges for the United States and the Caribbean Region through tourism. Comito participated in a panel session with moderator Ambassador Richard Bernal, incoming Pro-Vice Chancellor of Global Affairs at the University of the West Indies and representatives from the financial services and energy sectors. Click here to read and download the complete press release.