MINISTER of Tourism, Industry and Commerce (Ag) Hon. Irfaan Ali will be leading a nine member delegation to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)’s Caribbean Week event in New York from June 4-9. According to the CTO, Caribbean Week in New York is a celebration of the sights, sounds, colour, culture and unique vacation experiences of the Caribbean. Caribbean tourism officials, the media, artists, performers, celebrity chefs, fashion designers, models, investors and other strategic partners will converge on New York for a week of activities.
Minister Ali will be accompanied to the Caribbean forum by the Chairman of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Mr. Ramesh Ghir; GTA Director Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh and Marketing Director Ms. Carla James. Princess Hotel General Manager Mr. Muharrem Kulekci and the hotel’s Director of Sales and Marketing Ms. Petal Ridley will participate in the Caribbean Travel and Cultural Fair at Grand Central Station, which is one of the highlights of the programme. Twenty Caribbean countries will be participating in the trade show.
The Guyana team will be joined in New York by Guyana’s Consul General Mr. Brentnold Evans and Business and Communications Consultant, Ms. Sandra Ann Baptiste, who is coordinating Guyana’s participation in Caribbean Week.
Fourteen Caribbean Tourism Ministers, including the CTO’s Chairman, St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of Tourism and International Transportation Mr. Richard Skerritt, will be attending the week-long programme that includes an Investment Forum at which the Chairman of  the Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson will be honoured. Speakers include senior executives of investment firms in New York.
At the Media Marketplace, over 170 U.S.-based journalists will interact with Caribbean tourism Ministers and executives to hear about the latest developments in the 32 member countries of the CTO. It is one of the key public relations events on the regional tourism organization’s calendar.
Several Caribbean chefs and rum producers will participate in the ‘Rum and Rhythm’ benefit evening where participants will sample award-winning Caribbean rums, savour Caribbean culinary delights and be entertained by Caribbean cultural performances. Guyana’s internationally renowned El Dorado rum will be available at the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) booth.
Caribbean Week wraps up with a Caribbean Fashion, Trade and Arts Expo on Saturday June 9. Guyanese designer Carol Fraser will be showcasing her designs at this event.
Minister Ali will also speak on June 8 at the 46th Independence Anniversary reception in Brooklyn, organised by the Guyana Tri-State Alliance, in association with the Guyana Consulate in New York and the Permanent Mission of Guyana to the United Nations.