CTO launches AI bootcamp as Caribbean charts technology path for tourism

The Caribbean Tourism Organization is marking World Tourism Day on September 28 with a call for the region to adopt technology in ways that strengthen rather than replace the human elements that define Caribbean tourism.

This year's World Tourism Day theme, "Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism," reflects how digital tools are reshaping travel planning, destination discovery and how tourism operators run their businesses. CTO is using the occasion to stress that the Caribbean must be deliberate about technology adoption.

"For the Caribbean, the question is not simply how quickly we adopt new technology," said Dona Regis-Prosper, secretary-general and CEO of CTO. "It is how we use it in ways that make tourism work better for our destinations, our businesses, our communities and our people."

The approach sits within CTO's broader Reimagine Plan 2025, 2027, which organises work around six areas: Advocacy, Market Competitiveness, Tourism Intelligence, Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism, People Development, and Operational Excellence.

Regis-Prosper emphasised that technology should reinforce Caribbean tourism's core strength. "Tourism in the Caribbean is built on human connection. It is our hospitality, our culture, our communities, our stories and our sense of place that make this region special. Technology should support those strengths, not take their place."

On World Tourism Day itself, CTO is running an AI Tourism Bootcamp offering hands-on training to tourism professionals. The programme targets ministries, tourism departments, community organisations, small and medium-sized businesses, young professionals, students and entrepreneurs. Participants will develop a practical tourism product or asset to implement within their own organisations.

Regis-Prosper flagged the importance of ensuring that technological progress reaches all parts of the sector. "We have to make sure progress is shared. Smaller destinations, small businesses, young people and communities must have access to the knowledge and tools they need to participate fully in the changing tourism landscape."

The discussion will extend to CTO's State of the Tourism Industry Conference in Guyana from October 5, 9, which will examine technology, research, talent, sustainability, connectivity and competitiveness under the theme "Tourism Futures: Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive."