CTO to launch Future Leaders Forum at SOTIC 2026

The Caribbean Tourism Organization will debut its Future Leaders Forum at SOTIC 2026 in Georgetown, Guyana, on Oct. 5, giving students and emerging professionals a direct platform with tourism leaders. The pre-conference town hall is designed to bring young Caribbean voices into debates over the industry’s next decade, from climate resilience to artificial intelligence and workforce development.

Why it matters: - The Caribbean Tourism Organization is using SOTIC 2026 to pull students and emerging professionals into the center of tourism policy discussions. - The forum is designed to influence how the region prepares for climate change, AI, entrepreneurship, biodiversity, community tourism, destination management and workforce development. - The event signals a push to build leadership capacity early, as the Caribbean tourism sector faces rapid change.

What happened: - The Caribbean Tourism Organization will launch its inaugural Future Leaders Forum at the 2026 State of the Tourism Industry Conference in Georgetown, Guyana. - The forum is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. - The pre-conference session will use an interactive town hall format under the theme “From the Classroom to the Caribbean: Conversations with Tourism Leaders.” - CTO secretary-general and CEO Dona Regis-Prosper will open the forum. - CTO deputy director of sustainable tourism Narendra Ramgulam will moderate the session.

The details: - The forum will begin with a live audience poll on which issues will most affect Caribbean tourism over the next decade. - A “Town Hall Kickstarter” will follow, with tourism leaders from government, the private sector, academia and communities each answering one question about the biggest challenge the next generation must solve. - The session will then shift to an “Ask Me Anything: Caribbean Tourism Edition” format. - Students will be able to question tourism leaders on climate resilience, technology, entrepreneurship, careers, community development and the future direction of the industry. - Ramgulam urged students to arrive prepared with questions and ideas and said the forum is meant to make young people active participants, not passive listeners. - A Caribbean Tourism Legacy Wall will invite participants to complete the statement, “My legacy for Caribbean tourism will be …” and publicly post their commitments. - Regis-Prosper will be invited to make the first pledge, followed by tourism leaders and students. - The pledge wall is meant to symbolize shared responsibility between established and emerging leaders. - The emphasis on youth will continue during the week with the Regional Tourism Youth Congress, which will give young people from across the Caribbean a platform to debate tourism issues and present ideas. - SOTIC 2026 will run Oct. 5–9 in Georgetown and bring together tourism ministers, commissioners and directors of tourism, private-sector executives, industry specialists, media and other regional and international stakeholders. - Registration is available at the conference website.

Between the lines: - CTO is pairing a youth forum with its flagship tourism conference to show that succession planning is becoming a strategic issue, not just a symbolic one. - The town hall format suggests CTO wants direct feedback from younger participants on the industry’s biggest risks and opportunities. - The Legacy Wall and Youth Congress add visible, public-facing elements that reinforce the message that the next generation should help define Caribbean tourism’s future.

What's next: - CTO will open SOTIC 2026 with the Future Leaders Forum on Oct. 5. - The Regional Tourism Youth Congress will extend the youth focus later in the conference week. - Tourism leaders attending SOTIC will use the event to examine the issues and opportunities shaping the region’s tourism future.

The bottom line: - CTO is turning SOTIC 2026 into a platform where young Caribbean voices can question, challenge and help shape the tourism sector’s next decade.