INTERVIEW WITH JOHNSON JOHNROSE, CTO'S PRESS DIRECTOR

As the tourism industry is aware, this 11th Annual Conference on Sustainable Tourism Conference, (STC-11) will be held from May 9-12, 2010 in Barbados, and is being organized in collaboration with the Barbados Ministry of Tourism. For the first time in several years is bringing even more synergy between the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), and the CTO, as Barbados is a part of ACS and CTO at the same time.

There is growing interest in the STC, as its importance in promoting and maintaining tourism and its environmental impact on the islands becomes a Caribbean priority.
Previously, we have interviewed the key players involved in past and present conferences on Sustainable Tourism and now we will highlight the future promoters and shakers in this rapidly changing industry. Today, we talk about the STC with one of the most important and dedicated professional, who will oversee this conference, Johnson Johnrose, the press director of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), since 2003. As usual, he will be in charge of the invited media at the STC this upcoming month of May.

Johnson Johnrose is a BBC- trained journalist, broadcaster and media trainer who also holds certificates in media management from the College of Audio and Visual Arts in Caracas, and in news and business reporting from Reuters. He has been a practicing journalist for over 25 years, with vast experience in reporting on a wide range of Caribbean subjects including politics, economics, tourism and financial services issues. He has also covered international events relevant to the Caribbean including Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings, the Summit of the Americas and meetings of OAS and CARICOM.

Johnson Johnrose has won several awards for his work which has been published and broadcast within and outside the Caribbean. He has also been a frequent contributor to BBC London Live. He began his career as a reporter in Dominica and subsequently worked as news editor and program director for the state-owned DBS Radio. He also worked for the Caribbean News Agency (CANA) where he was the producer and presenter of its flagship program The Caribbean Today, before becoming radio and television news editor at the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). Currently Johnson Johnrose is communications officer at the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) but he continues to practice journalism as a freelancer.

How is this program progressing?

The development of the program for STC-11 is going very well. The theme of this year's Conference is “Keeping the Right Balance: Creating Opportunities through a World Class Sustainable Tourism Product”. We have a very diverse group of local, regional and international speakers who all have significant expertise in addressing the key aspects of sustainable tourism and heritage conservation that will be addressed at STC-11. Just to highlight a few of them, the Keynote Speaker will be Mr. Jonathan Tourtellot, Director, and Geotourism Editor, National Geographic Traveler, who developed the concept of geotourism and is quite knowledgeable about destination stewardship issues.
Dr. Kwame Boafo from UNESCO will be speaking on some of the available opportunities that Caribbean destination can benefit from in relation to developing World Heritage Sites. Ms. Mary Mahon Jones will be focusing on how destinations can tap into the potential of the North American Market for cultural tourists. Mr. Jason DeCaires Taylor - the designer of the Underwater Sculpture Museums - will be presenting on his creative efforts to conserve marine biodiversity in the Caribbean. There will also be a special presentation on Haiti after the recent earthquakes.
Other conference topics include how the region can address some of the challenges of developing a sustainable tourism industry such as post-disaster destination recovery, public-private sector cooperation, global sustainable tourism standards, and biodiversity conservation and turn them into opportunities for product development and destination marketing. Of course, the contemporary issues of climate change adaptation and developing green destinations will also be areas of focus given the latest global developments.

What are your expectations with this STC?

JJ: I anticipate that STC-11 will be successful in bringing together a broader cross-section of delegates than ever before. This should provide a rich exchange of ideas, opinions, networking opportunities and solutions to some of the key challenges that the Caribbean tourism industry is facing today. We are therefore actively encouraging participation from all of our Member Countries as well as from a cross-section of local, regional and international organizations as well as students. We are also inviting a mix of local, regional and international media to cover the conference given its importance. We are working very closely with the beautiful and world class host country - Barbados - to create an exciting, informative and hospitable atmosphere for all Conference participants. Delegates can look forward to enlightening panel presentations, interactive workshops, interesting study tours and several social events. STC-11 should not be a missed opportunity!