 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carlos Diago with Lifetime Achievement Award |
| NEW YORK, NY (May 19, 2005) � One of the region�s most senior tourism
professionals with over 40 years experience developing and promoting Caribbean
tourism, is to receive the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)�s most
prestigious award.
The CTO will honour Professor Carlos Diago with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the 32nd Annual Governments of the Caribbean State Ball on Friday, June 3, 2005 at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. �Carlos Diago is a pioneer in Caribbean tourism and has dedicated his life to developing programmes to promote the attractive features of the region and to assist in the educational development of people involved in the industry,� said Pamela C. Richards, commissioner of tourism for the U.S. Virgin Islands and chairman of CTO. �He is truly deserving of this esteemed award and we are delighted to honour him for his untiring and impressive achievements in tourism,� added Ms. Richards. Carlos Diago was one of the founders of the Caribbean Tourism Research and Development Centre (CTRC), established in 1974 with a broad mandate for tourism education and training, tourism planning and research, as well as statistics; and to provide credible data that would inform the Caribbean tourism industry�s marketing effort. He was also chairman of the board for CTRC and president of the Caribbean Tourism Association (CTA). The two bodies merged in 1989 to form CTO. Mr. Diago, who served as vice president and chairman of CTO�s Marketing Committee, was responsible for the creation of the Caribbean�s first large-scale regional marketing campaign. In Puerto Rico, his adopted country, one of his most impressive accomplishments is his role in the creation of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) in 1970, along with the developed of its first marketing plan. Under Mr. Diago�s direction, PRTC opened street-level offices in New York�s Rockefeller Center and other offices for international marketing in Toronto, Canada, and Frankfurt, Germany. Diago retired from his position at PRTC after 30 years of service. A firm believer in tourism as a viable economic activity for the region, Mr. Diago continues to be active as a consultant to the private and public sectors in Puerto Rico. He also teaches at the University of the Sacred Heart in San Juan, Puerto Rico. CTO�s Lifetime Achievement Award is given annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to Caribbean tourism. Previous beneficiaries of this esteemed award include Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Cicely Tyson, Earl Graves, New York Congressman Charles Rangel and Jean Holder, former secretary general of CTO. The Caribbean Tourism Organization The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and marketing operations in New York, London and Toronto, is the Caribbean�s tourism development agency and comprises membership of over 30 member governments and a myriad of private sector entities. The CTO�s mission is to provide to and through its members, the services and information needed for the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of the Caribbean people. The organization provides specialized support and technical assistance to member countries in the areas of marketing, human resource development, research and statistics, information technology and sustainable tourism development. The CTO disseminates information on behalf of its member governments to consumers and the travel trade. |
| Contact:
Johnson JohnRose
|