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St. Vincent & the Grenadines’ Minister of Tourism to address International Tourism Conference

This country’s Minister of Tourism Hon. Glen Beache will be among the presenters at the first International Tourism Conference that will be hosted by the Department of Management Studies, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. The conference which will be held over the period 8th-11th December 2009, brings together major international and regional actors - governments, academics and industry practitioners - to discuss new ways of thinking about, and practicing tourism.

The four-day conference is also the first of its kind to be held in the region which results from regional and international collaboration amongst the three campuses of the university in Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica along with the University of Surrey in the UK. The conference seeks to go ‘beyond the boundary’ of traditional ways of understanding and practising tourism which it is believed no longer provide adequate explanations for tourism in the context of a dynamic global and local environment. The many discussions which will take place at the conference include those which seek to go ‘beyond the boundary’ between tourism and sustainability, tourism and the environment, and tourism and management.

An innovative and central feature of the conference is an Industry forum to be held on the 11th December which is titled Solutions to the crisis: creating a new Caribbean tourism and which provides an opportunity for regional stakeholders to debate, share and brainstorm to find consensus and creative solutions on how Caribbean tourism can be re-engineered to capitalise on changes in the global economy. Some of the best minds in Caribbean tourism and hospitality will be represented on this unique forum including the Hon Glen Beache, Minister of Tourism for St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Mr. Ralph Taylor, President and CEO of Almond Resorts Inc., Barbados.

According to the Principal of UWI, Cave Hill, Professor Hilary Beckles “we are delighted to be the hosts of this innovative, relevant and timely conference which brings together local, regional and international stakeholders to discuss issues within the tourism industry which for many Caribbean countries represents the main income earner. The hosting of this conference at Cave Hill further strengthens the reputation of the university as a centre for scholarly debates on topics which are relevant to the furthering of the developmental goals of the region. The involvement of government and industry representatives is also a further indication of the desire of the university to engage with the wider community ‘beyond the boundary’ of the university campus”.

As well as the formal discussions that will take place during the conference, a number of social events have also been organised which will provide further opportunities for conversations and the development of collaborative networks.