BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Barbados is set to host the 2025 State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC), the region’s most influential gathering of tourism leaders from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3.
This year’s conference, which is being presented by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) in collaboration with Barbados’ Ministry of Tourism and International Transport and Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. will be held under the theme, “Reimagining Caribbean Tourism: Research, Relevance and the Road Ahead.”
Barbados’ Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the CTO’s Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism, Ian Gooding-Edghill, underscored the strategic significance of the event.
He said the theme of the conference highlights “the unquestionable need for up-to-date data-driven analysis and decision-making that leads to actionable and realisable strategies and collaboration.
“All of this is needed to secure our region’s competitiveness, and the long-term sustainable prosperity of all our people.”
Gooding-Edghill said his country’s keenness in exploring the theme “is sharpened by the fact that, at the local level, it helps to advance a more enlightened approach that I have championed publicly, and privately, and worked hard to make this the basis of our day-to-day approach to managing and further developing, this all-important area of national activity”.
He said Barbados willingly joins all of its counterparts in reaffirming its commitment to ensuring that SOTIC 2025 delivers tangible strategies and actionable policies, while strengthening partnerships meant to ensure a healthy future for a tourism industry that enhances the social and economic experiences for all host populations.
For 2025, the programme introduces deeper exploration of emerging growth sectors, including sports tourism, medical tourism, and health and wellness experiences.
These new areas of focus reflect shifting traveller demands and the region’s commitment to diversifying its offerings, attracting broader markets, and strengthening economic resilience.
“I urge as many people as possible, drawn not only from the tourism industry, but also from commerce, academia and related sectors, to seek exposure to the content of the proceedings of SOTIC 2025 in Barbados,” Gooding-Edghill said.
The conference will also host the Regional Tourism Youth Congress, where junior ministers of tourism from across CTO member states will present innovative ideas on the future of regional tourism.