GRAND CAYMAN — Barbados Tourism Minister Ian Gooding-Edghill has been named chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. 

Gooding-Edghill was named during the CTO’s State of the Tourism Industry Conference. 

He will take over the role as chairman of the CTO’s Council of Ministers and Commissioners from outgoing chairman Kenneth Bryan, Tourism Minister of the Cayman Islands. 

Bryan exits the role after having helped lead the CTO’s rebirth in the post-pandemic period, injecting new energy into the organization and cementing its role as a prominent regional tourism body. 

“I’m truly honored to have been entrusted by my peers across our vibrant region to lead this organization over the next two years,” Gooding-Edghill said. “I want to express my heartfelt thanks to each of you for affording me this opportunity and for the confidence you’ve placed to me as I take on this role. I’m acutely aware of the significant strengths that have been made under the dynamic and energetic leadership of our former chairman, Minister Kenneth Bryan. I can say with confidence and I believe members will agree with him that his tenure has reinvigorated the membership and brought a renewed sentence of purpose and unity to our organization.”

Gooding-Edghill also commended the leadership of Cayman Islands Director of Tourism Mrs. Rosa Harris, the outgoing chairman of the CTO’s Board. Andrea Franklin, CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., will serve as Chairman of the CTO’s Board of Directors.

SOTIC, the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s annual high-level gathering, is being hosted this week at the Westin Seven Mile Beach resort in Grand Cayman.