Cto Regional Tourism Youth Congress Returns At Sotic 2025 In Barbados: Empowering The Next Generation Of Caribbean Travel Leaders

Published on September 9, 2025

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Regional Tourism Youth Congress is group to return pinch renewed power and intent arsenic portion of nan highly anticipated State of nan Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC) 2025, hosted successful nan vibrant land of Barbados. This influential event, scheduled for October 2, 2025, astatine nan Hilton Barbados Resort, serves arsenic a captious level to empower nan Caribbean’s younker — nurturing nan adjacent procreation of tourism leaders, innovators, and advocates. Bringing together students aged 14 to 17 from 16 personnel countries and territories, nan Youth Congress transforms young delegates into “Junior Ministers/Commissioners of Tourism” who coming innovative investigation and visionary ideas aimed astatine shaping nan early scenery of Caribbean tourism.

Tourism remains nan economical cornerstone for galore Caribbean nations, contributing substantially to GDP, employment, and taste preservation. Recognizing nan strategical value of cultivating young talent, nan CTO Youth Congress fosters basal skills specified arsenic captious thinking, communication, leadership, and productivity done a blend of competition, workshops, and mentorship. Beyond a accepted contest, it is simply a transformative developmental inaugural designed to animate progressive younker participation, broaden their knowing of sustainable tourism practices, and promote forward-thinking solutions to location challenges.

This year’s programme features engaging maestro classes led by world experts for illustration Ed Limon from Winged Whale Media, introducing delegates to cutting-edge technologies specified arsenic immersive media and virtual tourism innovation. Complementary workshops focused connected profession readiness and leadership, including “Level Up: A Teen Career Launchpad,” equip younker pinch valuable devices for occurrence some wrong and beyond nan tourism sector.

The 2025 Youth Congress will merge young leaders representing divers Caribbean territories, including Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Vincent & nan Grenadines, Tobago, and nan U.S. Virgin Islands. This inclusivity helps foster location collaboration and taste exchange, reinforcing tourism’s domiciled arsenic a unifier and economical driver.

Supported by influential sponsors specified arsenic Breeze Travel Solutions and Carnival Corporation, nan Congress embodies nan Caribbean tourism sector’s committedness to sustainable, innovative development. As nan Caribbean faces evolving world tourism trends and challenges, investing successful younker activity is basal to ensuring nan region’s continued entreaty and competitiveness connected nan world stage.

In essence, nan CTO Regional Tourism Youth Congress is simply a captious and move forum that blends education, empowerment, and innovation, preparing Caribbean younker to not only inherit nan tourism bequest but to redefine it for nan decades ahead.

Nurturing Future Tourism Innovators Across nan Caribbean

The Youth Congress successful Barbados is simply a signature inaugural of CTO that gathers students betwixt nan ages of 14 and 17 from 16 personnel countries and territories. Each young delegate assumes nan domiciled of a “Junior Minister/Commissioner of Tourism,” presenting forward-thinking ideas and investigation focused connected shaping nan early of Caribbean tourism.

Sharon Banfield-Bovell, CTO’s Director of Resource Mobilization and Development, highlights nan program’s significance:
“This arena transcends a competition; it is simply a captious level that cultivates early tourism advocates and innovators who will thrust nan Caribbean’s tourism maturation and transformation.”

Engaging Youth successful Tourism Education and Leadership

Alongside presenting their projects, participants will prosecute successful exclusive sessions designed to animate and create cardinal skills important for tomorrow’s tourism leaders:

• Tourism Youth Congress Master Class: Led by Ed Limon, CEO of Winged Whale Media, focusing connected immersive media and cutting-edge virtual tourism technologies.
• Career Development Workshop: “Level Up: A Teen Career Launchpad” led by Davina Layne of Your Corporate Image, covering leadership, work-life balance, and profession readiness.

A Diverse Representation of Caribbean Talent

The 2025 Youth Congress will characteristic delegates from Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Vincent & nan Grenadines, Tobago, and nan U.S. Virgin Islands.

Strong Industry Support and Sponsorship

The Congress is proudly supported by manufacture leaders including Breeze Travel Solutions, Carnival Corporation & plc, Caribbean Media Exchange, Marketplace Excellence, and Winged Whale Media — underscoring nan sector’s finance successful empowering youth.

Building a Sustainable Future for Caribbean Tourism

Embedded wrong nan broader SOTIC 2025 conference, moving from September 30 to October 3, nan Youth Congress contributes toward nan extremity of cultivating sustainable, innovative, and competitory tourism successful nan Caribbean. The convention covers captious topics specified arsenic marketplace trends, airlift description , wellness tourism, and cruise manufacture synergies.

Why nan CTO Youth Congress Matters

• Empowers young Caribbean citizens pinch knowledge and activity skills successful tourism.
• Forges a pathway for early profession opportunities successful a vibrant, increasing industry.
• Connects younker delegates pinch manufacture experts and mentors for real-world insights.
• Cultivates innovative reasoning to reside tourism challenges and opportunities.
• Enhances location collaboration and taste speech among divers Caribbean nations.

Last year’s Congress successful nan Cayman Islands saw Nevis’s Keyana Warner execute apical honors, mounting precocious expectations for this year’s move cohort of young leaders fresh to style tourism’s future.

For tourism manufacture stakeholders, educators, and policymakers, nan CTO Regional Tourism Youth Congress represents a captious finance successful nan semipermanent vitality of Caribbean recreation and hospitality.