Trending
| Barbados’ top tourism executive Andrea Franklin, and Luce Hodge-Smith, junior minister of tourism and culture for the British Virgin Islands, received top honors during the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) third annual Caribbean Women in Tourism Leadership Awards held at InterContinental New York Times Square during Caribbean Week in New York on Monday. Franklin, CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and chairman of the CTO Board of Directors, was selected by her peers as Director of Tourism of the Year 2026. Hodge-Smith earned the Minister/Commissioner of Tourism of the Year award following similar voting by regional tourism leaders. Sponsored by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, the awards recognize excellence in visionary leadership, destination growth, regional tourism advancement and the ability to inspire the next generation of women in the industry. |
 |
| Andrea Franklin, CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and Chairman of the CTO Board of Directors, accepts the Director of Tourism of the Year award from CTO Secretary-General and CEO Dona Regis-Prosper. |
| The evening featured an inspiring keynote address by Christine Valls, managing director for Latin America and the Caribbean at United Airlines, who shared insights from her leadership journey and underscored the importance of empowering women, fostering innovation and building strong partnerships. The Secretary-General’s Distinguished Service Award was presented to Dr. Lisa Indar, executive director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), in recognition of her outstanding contributions to healthier, safer tourism and sustainable tourism development. The event also inducted six distinguished women into the Caribbean Women in Tourism Leadership Hall of Fame for their lasting impact on the industry: Valérie Damaseau, Commissioner of Tourism and Culture, Saint-Martin Marsha Henderson, Minister of Tourism, St. Kitts and Nevis Rosa Harris, Director of Tourism, Cayman Islands Beverly Nicholson Doty, CEO, Figment Design Petra Roach, Director of Sales and Marketing, Wyndham Grand Barbados Karolin Troubetzkoy, Executive Director of Marketing and Operations, Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain Resorts, St. Lucia In a major initiative during the evening, CTO launched a new scholarship fund dedicated to empowering the next generation of Caribbean women in tourism. The initiative, titled “From Her to Her: From Today’s Female Leaders to Tomorrow’s Tourism Stars,” raised US $13,000 through a live fundraising auction. The scholarship program will provide annual support for a promising female student from the Caribbean pursuing studies and a career in tourism with all proceeds benefiting the initiative through the CTO Foundation. Guests also received a sneak preview of “From the Sea Suite,” CTO’s women’s leadership magazine profiling remarkable women across Caribbean tourism. The publication will make its official print debut at CTO’s State of the Tourism Industry Conference in Guyana, scheduled for Oct. 5–9, 2026. |
 |
| Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA, delivers remarks after receiving the CTO Secretary-General’s Distinguished Service Award. |
 |
| Attendees, award recipients and Hall of Fame inductees gather for a group photo during CTO’s third annual Caribbean Women in Tourism Leadership Awards at InterContinental New York Times Square during Caribbean Week in New York. |
| Barbados’ top tourism executive Andrea Franklin, and Luce Hodge-Smith, junior minister of tourism and culture for the British Virgin Islands, received top honors during the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) third annual Caribbean Women in Tourism Leadership Awards held at InterContinental New York Times Square during Caribbean Week in New York on Monday. Franklin, CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and chairman of the CTO Board of Directors, was selected by her peers as Director of Tourism of the Year 2026. Hodge-Smith earned the Minister/Commissioner of Tourism of the Year award following similar voting by regional tourism leaders. Sponsored by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, the awards recognize excellence in visionary leadership, destination growth, regional tourism advancement and the ability to inspire the next generation of women in the industry. |
|
| Andrea Franklin, CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and Chairman of the CTO Board of Directors, accepts the Director of Tourism of the Year award from CTO Secretary-General and CEO Dona Regis-Prosper. |
| The evening featured an inspiring keynote address by Christine Valls, managing director for Latin America and the Caribbean at United Airlines, who shared insights from her leadership journey and underscored the importance of empowering women, fostering innovation and building strong partnerships. The Secretary-General’s Distinguished Service Award was presented to Dr. Lisa Indar, executive director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), in recognition of her outstanding contributions to healthier, safer tourism and sustainable tourism development. The event also inducted six distinguished women into the Caribbean Women in Tourism Leadership Hall of Fame for their lasting impact on the industry: Valérie Damaseau, Commissioner of Tourism and Culture, Saint-Martin Marsha Henderson, Minister of Tourism, St. Kitts and Nevis Rosa Harris, Director of Tourism, Cayman Islands Beverly Nicholson Doty, CEO, Figment Design Petra Roach, Director of Sales and Marketing, Wyndham Grand Barbados Karolin Troubetzkoy, Executive Director of Marketing and Operations, Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain Resorts, St. Lucia In a major initiative during the evening, CTO launched a new scholarship fund dedicated to empowering the next generation of Caribbean women in tourism. The initiative, titled “From Her to Her: From Today’s Female Leaders to Tomorrow’s Tourism Stars,” raised US $13,000 through a live fundraising auction. The scholarship program will provide annual support for a promising female student from the Caribbean pursuing studies and a career in tourism with all proceeds benefiting the initiative through the CTO Foundation. Guests also received a sneak preview of “From the Sea Suite,” CTO’s women’s leadership magazine profiling remarkable women across Caribbean tourism. The publication will make its official print debut at CTO’s State of the Tourism Industry Conference in Guyana, scheduled for Oct. 5–9, 2026. |
|
| Dr. Lisa Indar, Executive Director of CARPHA, delivers remarks after receiving the CTO Secretary-General’s Distinguished Service Award. |
|
| Attendees, award recipients and Hall of Fame inductees gather for a group photo during CTO’s third annual Caribbean Women in Tourism Leadership Awards at InterContinental New York Times Square during Caribbean Week in New York. |
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
We’re excited to introduce Emonew, Dominica’s fresh new source for general country news. From community updates to national stories, we’re here to keep you informed, connected, and up to date.
Copyright Emonews 2025
