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Minutes of the Meeting of the Cto Council of Tourism Ministers

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Minutes of the Meeting of the Cto Council of Tourism Ministers MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CTO COUNCIL OF TOURISM MINISTERS AND COMMISSIONERS HELD AT ATLANTIS PARADISE ISLAND RESORT, PARADISE ISLAND, THE BAHAMAS, ON SUNDAY JANUARY 22, 2012 AT 3:35 P.M. ATTENDANCE CTO STAFF St. Kitts & Nevis Chairman: Hon. Richard Skerritt Present Barbados Mr. Hugh Riley Anguilla Hon. Haydn Hughes Present Mr. Neil Walters Antigua & Barbuda Hon. Herbert John Maginley Present Aruba Hon. Otmar E. Oduber B.Sc. Absent Bahamas Hon. Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace Present Barbados Hon. Richard Sealy Present Belize Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr. Absent Bermuda Hon. Wayne Furbert Present Bonaire Hon. Burney El Hage Absent B.V.I. Ms. Hadassah Ward Present Cayman Islands Mr. Shomari Scott Present Cuba Hon. Manuel Marrero Cruz Absent Curaçao Mr. Ghatim Kabbara Present Dominica Hon. Ian Douglas Absent Grenada Hon. Peter David Present Guadeloupe Hon. Josette Borel-Lincertin Absent Guyana Hon. Manniram Prashad Absent Haiti Mr. Daniel Fouchard Present Jamaica Hon. Wykeham McNeill Present Martinique Mrs. Valerie Vulcain-Augustine Present Montserrat Hon. Reuben Meade Absent Puerto Rico Hon. Mario Gonzáles-LaFuente Present St. Eustatius Hon. Clyde van Putten Absent St. Lucia Hon. Lorne Theophilus Present St. Maarten Ms. May-ling Chun Present St. Martin Hon. Ida Zin-Ka-Leu Present St. Vincent &The Grenadines Mr. Glen Beache Present Trinidad & Tobago Ms. Sandra Perkins Present Turks & Caicos Mr. Kingsley R. Been Present U.S.Virgin Islands Hon. Beverly Nicholson Doty Present Venezuela Hon. Alejandro Fleming Cabrera Absent Minutes of the Meeting of the Council of Tourism Ministers & Commissioners Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Paradise Island, The Bahamas Sunday January 22, 2012 Page 1 MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF TOURISM MINISTERS AND COMMISSIONERS OF THE CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2012 3:35 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Hera Room Atlantis Paradise Island Resort Paradise Island, BAHAMAS DRAFT AGENDA 1. Call to order 2. Adoption of the Agenda 3. Welcome new Ministers 4. Confirmation of the Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at Hotel Le Domaine, St. Martin. 5. Matters Arising from the Minutes 6. The Way Forward for the CTO 7. Next steps on the Air Passenger Duty 8. Any Other Business 9. Date of the Next Meeting Minutes of the Meeting of the Council of Tourism Ministers & Commissioners Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Paradise Island, The Bahamas Sunday January 22, 2012 Page 2 FOLLOW-UP ACTION 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting began at 3:51pm The meeting was called to order by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism, Senator, the Honourable Richard Skerritt. 2. ROLL CALL The roll call was performed by the Director of Finance and it was ascertained that a quorum was present. The Chairman welcomed new ministers; Minister Lorne Theophilus of St. Lucia, Minister Wykeham McNeill of Jamaica, and Minister Wayne Furbert of Bermuda. The Chairman offered congratulations to the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) Mr. Mario González-Lafuente, on his appointment to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB) of the US Department of Commerce. Mr. González-Lafuente in response thanked the Chairman and asked that he be allowed to be the voice of the Caribbean during his tenure on the Board. He referred to the Intransit Lounge in Puerto Rico, which had been closed since September 11, 2001and asked CTO to assist with the provision of statistics to prove the benefits of the Intransit Lounge and of having it reopened. He further noted that the recommendations of the TTAB are followed by actions and this is where Puerto Rico believes it could be very beneficial to the Caribbean. The Chairman invited members to channel their concerns to Puerto Rico and asked the CTO to provide the PRTC with the necessary information to assist it with its case H. Riley regarding the Intransit Lounge. Due to the sensitive nature of the discussions to follow, the Chairman asked persons not Ministers or not representing their Ministers to leave the room. 3. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA The agenda was adopted on a motion by Antigua and Barbuda and seconded by the USVI. Mr. Riley noted the insertion of a presentation by Dr. Edward Greene of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) into the agenda as part of item number 8. Minutes of the Meeting of the Council of Tourism Ministers & Commissioners Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Paradise Island, The Bahamas Sunday January 22, 2012 Page 3 FOLLOW-UP ACTION The Chairman noted that the CTO’s Board of Directors had asked to make a presentation re: the transitioning of the assets of CTO USA to CTDC and after a brief discussion it was agreed that this should occur during item number 6. He also noted that the CHTA had asked that a video on ‘Taste of the Caribbean’ be shown during the meeting and this would take place immediately after Dr. Greene’s presentation. The Chairman noted the presence of Mr. Beache of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the newly appointed CEO of TIDCO, Ms. Sandra Perkins as well as others representing their ministers. 4. CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 IN ST. MARTIN The minutes were adopted as read on a motion by Grenada and seconded by Antigua and Barbuda. 5. MATTERS ARISING The Chairman noted the matter of WTTC and Mr. Scowsill on page 4 of the Minutes. Mr. Riley pointed out that the WTTC was ensuring that the Caribbean has a signature on the ‘Golden Book’ of Travel and Tourism, especially given the importance of tourism to the region. The Chairman noted that CTO’s Research department had conducted research on summer cruising in the Caribbean and that a follow-up study on winter cruising had been done to assess the differences between the two types of traveler. Commissioner Nicholson referred to the Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA) study which is in progress and noted that there have been some discrepancies between CTO and BREA studies in the past. The Chairman pointed out that the CTO study was a more marketing related study while BREA performed their studies on behalf of the FCCA from a more economic standpoint. In referring to page 6 of the Minutes of the previous meeting, Minister Maginley asked about the WTTC document analyzing the revenue loss to the UK government due to the Air Passenger Duty (APD) and whether this document was now available. Mr. Riley noted that this was not the case. Minutes of the Meeting of the Council of Tourism Ministers & Commissioners Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Paradise Island, The Bahamas Sunday January 22, 2012 Page 4 FOLLOW-UP ACTION The Chairman informed the meeting that the CTDC had signed a contract with Tambourine Creative to redesign the www.caribbeantravel.com website. He pointed out that pledged contributions had been made towards the cost of this exercise and that the website was expected to be up and running by the third quarter of 2012. Minister Sealy in referring to Redjet noted that some additional routes had come on stream since September 2012. He noted that the new competitor forced LIAT and Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to run specials. He further noted that the Barbados government has supported Redjet and pointed out the need for more players, more aircraft and more competition. Minister Sealy referred to the fact that there is a LIAT meeting every quarter and suggested that CTO become more involved at the LIAT shareholder level as he felt this could prove useful and assist with intra-regional travel issues. He noted that there are some issues with LIAT and its operations and suggested that LIAT’s shareholders may have to take on more responsibility like Trinidad and Tobago has done with CAL and Jamaica with Air Jamaica. Minister Maginley also noted great concern over LIAT and he also referred to its challenges. But he pointed out that LIAT was a social necessity and that to treat its operations simply as a commercial exercise would lead to non-profitable routes being dropped. Minister Maginley further noted that the three current LIAT shareholders were firm on their social role. He pointed out that it was not a level playing field and noted issues with taxes and the fare guarantee arrangements made with external carriers which were not made with LIAT. He suggested that some of the short trips LIAT made may have to go away, mainly to maintain operational efficiency. In referring to Minister Sealy’s submission, Minister Maginley offered on the Council’s behalf to propose CTO’s input at the next LIAT shareholder’s meeting. Minister David noted his agreement with Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda and pointed out that Grenada is on record as seeking to become a shareholder of LIAT. He indicated that there were some issues with LIAT’s management but suggested that LIAT was an essential public utility for the Eastern Caribbean. Mr. Beache recognized the constant support for LIAT from several countries and that competitors for LIAT have been in and out of the market. He pointed out issues with running a short haul airline, shareholder funding issues and industrial relations issues. He suggested that there be discussions at the Heads of Government level before CTO’s involvement. The Chairman noted CTO’s role in the past in resolving issues between intra-regional airlines and a proposed increased focus on intra-regional travel matters. Minutes of the Meeting of the Council of Tourism Ministers & Commissioners Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Paradise Island, The Bahamas Sunday January 22, 2012 Page 5 FOLLOW-UP ACTION Mr. González-Lafuente noted a 3.8% increase in cruise ship visits for Puerto Rico comprised of increases in both intransit and homeport visits.
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