The opening ceremony of the Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit (ACTS) kicked off tonight at the International Trade Center in the Ronald Reagan Building and, as usual, Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTC) Chairman Sen. Allen Chastanet delivered a powerful speech, calling on delegates to stop living in a “fantasy world” where everything will work itself out and instead take regional marketing seriously.
“We must stop undermining (tourism); you are wrong when you say you cannot build an economy on tourism,” he told the attendees, noting Dubai as the primary example of a destination that can thrive solely on tourism. “I still don’t think that we have reached the position where we have fully embraced tourism.”
Chastanet added that “Time is drawing on us where the mediocrity we are accustomed to is changing. This event is an example of that.”