by Brian Major
Last updated: 6:37 PM ET, Wed September 14, 2022
Kenneth Bryan, the Cayman Islands' minister of tourism, was elected chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Tuesday at the group's annual general meeting in Grand Cayman. As part of his new duties, Bryan assumes the chairmanship of CTO's Council of Ministers for the next two years, replacing Lisa Cummins, outgoing chairman and Barbados' minister of tourism.
"I'm honored and excited to take over the mantle of the CTO chairmanship," Bryan said. "I recognize, like all other members, that there needs to be some reform and restructuring, particularly with respect to air travel and marketing," he said.
Bryan added, "I'm ready to take on the challenge, in collaboration with my regional colleagues, of finding a new way forward [and] addressing any issues we have within the organization to improve efficiency and focus."
Long the primary group marketing and promoting travel to Caribbean destinations, CTO closed regional offices in New York and London in 2019. The organization has traditionally played a key role in compiling statistics and research on Caribbean travel.
In addition to the office closures, CTO's leaders launched a "comprehensive audit" of its Barbados headquarters to "significantly reduce operational expenditures."
Bryan praised Cummins for overseeing CTO's chairmanship during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Thank you to former chairman Lisa Cummins for the hard work that she did over a very difficult period, particularly in managing a very important organization when the whole region was dealing with difficulties in tourism, brought on by the pandemic," said Bryan.
Under Bryan's leadership Rosa Harris, the Cayman Islands director of tourism, will serve as chairman of CTO's Board of Directors for the next two years.
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