Caribbean Week in New York Ends on High Note, With CTO on the Upswing 

Caribbean Week in New York concluded with praise from Caribbean Tourism Organization Chairman Ian Gooding-Edghill, who called the event a strong reflection of regional solidarity and forward-thinking leadership.

“This is my first Caribbean Week as Chairman of the CTO and based on all the feedback we received, it went extremely well,” said Gooding-Edghill, who also serves as Barbados’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport. “We are certainly delighted that we’ve had so many participants—over 200—registered. It also tells us that the organization is going in the right direction.”

Held under the theme “Caribbean Resilience: Crafting Tomorrow’s Tourism,” the event brought together tourism leaders, cultural figures, and media from across the region for a week of high-level meetings, panel discussions, workshops, and networking events.

One of the week’s central events was the CTO Council of Ministers and Commissioners Meeting. “We were in the session for just over four hours, which speaks to the value of the contributions at that meeting,” said Gooding-Edghill. “We’ve also specifically laid out additional work that the CTO will have to undertake on behalf of members.”

Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. CEO Andrea Franklin chaired the CTO Board of Directors meeting in her role as Chairman of the Board.

Among the key themes of the week was the role of data in shaping the future of regional tourism.

“Research plays a significant role in our day-to-day business,” said Gooding-Edghill. “We discussed how we can fine-tune and get additional data and metrics to help us plan strategically and advance the Caribbean’s interests.”

CWNY 2025 also marked the launch of the CTO’s new Reimagine Plan (2025-2027), which outlines the organization’s strategic priorities over the next three years. The plan is built on five foundational pillars: advocacy, market competitiveness, tourism intelligence, sustainable and regenerative tourism, and people development.

“We will continue to focus on the Reimagine program. It’s an exciting time for us as CTO,” said Gooding-Edghill. “Every so often you have to look back and look internally and see where you are and where you want to go—and that is the Reimagine plan for us.”