Caribbean Tourism Organization - Pacific NW Chapter

Welcome to the
Pacific Northwest Chapter of

The Caribbean Tourism Organization

The Caribbean Tourism Organization was established in January 1989 out of a merger of the Caribbean Tourism Association (founded 1951) and the Caribbean Tourism Research and Development Centre (founded 1974). It is an international development agency functioning under a Headquarters Agreement with the Government of Barbados where its headquarters are located. It also has marketing operations in the tourism generating markets in New York and London.

The Pacific NorthWest CTO Chapter has developed new programs for our chapter members who sell the Caribbean. Our goal is to educate our chapter members with the most current information on the Caribbean Islands, Tourist Boards, Tour Companies and Cruise Lines. In addition, we provide our members the opportunity to become Destination Specialists through online courses and in-person study groups. Our goal is to have our membership grow to a higher level of understanding - and therefore selling - the Caribbean.

The purpose of CTO is to establish a forum where individuals, particularly Travel Agents, connected with the selling of travel and services for the Caribbean, can meet for the primary purpose of developing a greater knowledge and understanding of the destination, thereby expanding travel and profit opportunities.

To continually educate the travel agents on product and knowledge

To bring Island Representatives and CTO Members together regularly

To develop a closer working relationship with other area travel agents, understanding that we each have our own areas of specialty and that we can help each other.