Monday, July 7, 2025
In an ambitious move to redefine tourism in the Caribbean, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) unveiled its Reimagine Plan 2025-2027 during Caribbean Week in New York in June. This bold, three-year roadmap aims to transform the region’s tourism sector by positioning the Caribbean as a global leader in sustainable tourism while addressing the evolving challenges faced by the industry. With a clear focus on sustainability, resilience, and innovation, the plan outlines key strategies for economic growth, environmental responsibility, and community empowerment.
During the launch event, CTO Secretary-General Dona Regis-Prosper highlighted the significant strides the region has made in adapting to global challenges, emphasizing that this plan is designed to ensure lasting prosperity for the Caribbean. The Reimagine Plan was created through extensive consultation, aiming to address both current and future needs while solidifying the Caribbean’s position as a leader in global tourism.

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The plan, divided into five core pillars, is already being implemented, signaling a new era for Caribbean tourism — one rooted in purpose, partnership, and measurable results.

The Core Pillars of the Reimagine Plan

The Reimagine Plan is built around five core pillars that will guide the region’s tourism development over the next three years. These pillars are:

1. Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism
2. Tourism Intelligence
3. Advocacy
4. Market Competitiveness
5. People Development

These pillars are designed to address the challenges facing the Caribbean’s tourism sector while fostering a long-term vision for growth and resilience. Below, we explore each pillar in greater detail:

1. Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism

The Caribbean’s future in tourism relies heavily on the region’s ability to balance growth with environmental sustainability. The Reimagine Plan emphasizes sustainable and regenerative tourism practices, ensuring that tourism development benefits both the environment and local communities.

• Sustainability in Tourism: The plan calls for adopting eco-friendly practices across the tourism industry, from reducing carbon footprints to supporting local ecosystems. Regenerative tourism focuses on restoring and preserving natural resources, which is crucial for the Caribbean, a region highly dependent on its beaches, marine life, and natural beauty.
• Building Resilience: The Caribbean is particularly vulnerable to climate change, and the plan outlines strategies for strengthening the region’s resilience against environmental disasters, such as hurricanes and rising sea levels. This will involve improving disaster preparedness, building more resilient infrastructure, and promoting environmental conservation.

2. Tourism Intelligence

In the digital age, effective data management and analysis are essential for enhancing decision-making and improving the tourism experience. Tourism intelligence aims to strengthen data infrastructure across the Caribbean to provide insights that drive smart tourism development.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: The plan advocates for investing in tourism research and leveraging technology to gain insights into visitor trends, satisfaction, and economic impacts. By collecting and analyzing data, Caribbean nations will be able to craft more effective marketing strategies, improve service delivery, and enhance overall competitiveness.
• Building Local Capacity: The Reimagine Plan also calls for the development of local talent in data analytics, ensuring that the Caribbean is equipped with the skills needed to take advantage of the global digital transformation in tourism.

3. Advocacy

The Reimagine Plan also focuses on strengthening the advocacy role of the CTO, ensuring that the Caribbean’s voice is heard on the global stage. By building stronger relationships with international stakeholders, the region can more effectively address the challenges and opportunities facing its tourism sector.

• Global Advocacy for Caribbean Tourism: The CTO aims to promote the Caribbean as a leading sustainable destination in global forums, ensuring that regional priorities, such as climate change resilience, are on the international agenda.
• Building Regional Partnerships: The plan emphasizes the importance of regional cooperation in advocating for issues that impact the Caribbean, such as tourism regulations, trade policies, and environmental conservation.

4. Market Competitiveness

In an increasingly competitive global tourism market, Caribbean destinations must continually innovate to maintain their attractiveness. The Reimagine Plan seeks to enhance the Caribbean’s market competitiveness through targeted marketing and diversified offerings.

• Enhancing Destination Branding: The CTO will work to strengthen the branding of Caribbean destinations, focusing on unique offerings such as eco-tourism, cultural heritage, and wellness tourism. A consistent and distinctive brand message will help the Caribbean stand out in a crowded marketplace.
• Diversifying Tourism Offerings: To reduce dependence on seasonal tourism and attract new markets, the plan advocates for diversified tourism experiences, from luxury travel to adventure tourism, cultural tourism, and wellness retreats. The idea is to expand the region’s appeal to a broader range of travelers.

5. People Development

Tourism is a people-centric industry, and the Reimagine Plan stresses the importance of developing human capital to meet the growing demands of the sector. The aim is to improve skills, expand training opportunities, and empower marginalized groups.

• Empowering Local Communities: The plan calls for increased training for local populations, particularly marginalized groups, to ensure that more people can benefit from the tourism economy. This includes training in areas such as hospitality, tour guiding, and sustainable tourism practices.
• Improving Service Standards: Enhancing service standards is crucial for ensuring that visitors have an exceptional experience. The Reimagine Plan includes initiatives to improve customer service, hospitality training, and quality assurance across the region’s tourism sector.

A Unified Vision for Caribbean Tourism

The launch of the Reimagine Plan was met with widespread support from industry stakeholders, who see it as a timely and necessary response to the challenges faced by the Caribbean tourism industry. At the launch event, Ian Gooding-Edghill, Chairman of the CTO Council of Ministers and Barbados Minister of Tourism, stressed that the plan is not just a vision but a regional imperative.
“The time is now. The change-makers are present. The visionaries are in motion,” said Gooding-Edghill. “Let us reimagine tourism not simply as a sector, but as a vehicle for empowerment, a platform for innovation, and a source of dignity for our people.”
This sentiment was echoed by Latia Duncombe, Director General of Tourism for The Bahamas, who emphasized the importance of execution. “We cannot afford to treat this as just another framework … our ability to move the needle depends on how well we translate vision to execution,” Duncombe noted.

Collaborative Effort and Stakeholder Engagement

The Reimagine Plan is the result of more than two years of consultation, collaboration, and analysis. The plan’s development process included input from a wide range of stakeholders, including tourism ministers, industry leaders, and experts in sustainable tourism.
Rosa Harris, Director of Tourism for the Cayman Islands, described the initiative as a direct response to calls for more value from the CTO. “We heard the call loud and clear,” she said. “CTO needs to add value, and this plan does just that.”
The plan also reflects the Caribbean’s broader push for regional self-determination in the competitive global tourism market. Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, highlighted the region’s unique vulnerabilities and untapped potential, urging leaders to harmonize policies and embrace regionalism over nationalism.

Next Steps and Future Engagement

As the Reimagine Plan is rolled out across the Caribbean, the CTO will continue to engage stakeholders through workshops, seminars, and implementation support. Performance monitoring will also play a key role in ensuring that progress is tracked and that the plan remains on course.
“This is no longer a vision on paper,” said Annette Mark, CEO of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority. “It is an action plan for progress.”
The Reimagine Plan’s implementation will focus on partnerships, stakeholder collaboration, and results-driven strategies that bring the plan’s vision to life across the Caribbean region.

Conclusion

The Reimagine Plan 2025-2027 is a bold initiative aimed at transforming the Caribbean tourism industry for the future. By focusing on sustainability, resilience, and inclusive growth, the plan seeks to make the Caribbean a global leader in tourism while empowering local communities and businesses. As the region continues to recover and rebuild from past challenges, the CTO’s strategic vision provides a clear path forward to a prosperous, sustainable, and competitive Caribbean tourism sector.

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Tags: Bahamas Tourism News, Barbados Tourism News, caribbean tourism, Caribbean tourism development, Cayman Islands tourism news, CTO, Jamaica tourism news, Reimagine Plan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, sustainable tourism, Tourism news, Travel News

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Monday, July 7, 2025
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