The CEO of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Frank Comito, has stepped down from the position. 

The move comes after Comito helped guide the association through the pandemic, along with several devastating hurricanes and a number of other global challenges facing the tourism industry. 

Comito has spent nearly 40 years working for local and regional private sector organizations in the wider Caribbean region. 

He will now be serving as a part-time special advisor to the organization following the transition. 

Industry veteran and longtime CHTA executive Vanessa Ledesman will be serving as acting CEO and director general of the organization in the interim. 

In his outgoing remarks, Comito said the pandemic remained a critical concern, and that the Caribbean’s tourism industry “needs CHTA.”

“Our work has a bottom line impact on restoring tourism and economies,” he said. “While we immediately shifted course, adapting to the newfound needs of the industry, we have not lost sight of the long-game of CHTA’s ongoing viability and our role in continuing to support tourism’s development.”

— CJ