Belize at 1st Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit in Washington D.C.

A delegation lead by Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr. that included Director of Tourism, Mrs. Tracy Panton and Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Michael Singh, traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the First Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit from June 21st to June 25th 2008.

This summit, hosted at the Ronald Reagan's International Trade Center, was organized by the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC). The CTDC is the marketing and business unit, equally owned by the Caribbean Hotel Association and the Caribbean Tourism Organization, was designed to bring together key industry leaders from all sectors to stimulate a heightened interest in the Caribbean. The primary goal of the CTDC, in organizing such an event, is to increase the direct flow of foreign tourism capital into the region.

Keynote speaker at the Summit was Mr. Alan Greenspan, who served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserves System for over 18 years. Mr. Greenspan discussed the current status of the US economy and its potential impacts on the regional economy. Minister of Tourism Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr. stated that; "Attendance at the Caribbean Tourism Summit provided an excellent forum for international tourism leaders to exchange ideas and interact with the influential Policy Makers, Financial Leader, Marketing Professionals and Tourism Officials from over 30 Caribbean countries". Minister Heredia further commented, "We are also happy to network with other tourism leaders to see how we can further grow this important economic sector."

While in Washington D.C., Hon. Heredia, CEO Singh and Director Panton visited with the Inter-American Development Bank, Cruise Line International Association and Conservation International. The Belize delegation also made a courtesy call on the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, His Excellency Jose Miguel Insulza. The Belize delegation had full support from the Chief of Belize Mission in Washington D.C., His Excellency Nestor Mendez and his team.