CTO's Hugh Riley to Officially Retire as the Group's Secretary General

Image: PHOTO: Caribbean visitor growth will increase by six to seven percent in 2019 said CTO CEO and secretary general Hugh Riley. (Photo by Brian Major).
Image: PHOTO: Caribbean visitor growth will increase by six to seven percent in 2019 said CTO CEO and secretary general Hugh Riley. (Photo by Brian Major).
by Joe Pike
Last updated: 4:04 PM ET, Tue April 23, 2019

One of the most popular figures in Caribbean tourism is stepping down from his position.

After nearly 10 years at the helm of the Caribbean's tourism development agency, Hugh Riley will officially be retiring as the secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) in June.

Although he will officially step down later in the year, the CTO stated in a news release on Tuesday that Riley has already entered a "pre-retirement leave" until June, meaning he's basically going to be on leave until his duties are met.

Riley was appointed to the top post at the Barbados-headquartered CTO in August of 2009 and has been amongst the most influential tourism leaders in the Caribbean ever since.

According to the CTO release, "the organization's director of finance, Neil Walters, will act in the position until a successor is appointed."

And what were some of the many duties Riley has handled for the Caribbean region for almost a decade?

According to the CTO, the secretary general is the "public face and chief spokesperson of the CTO, and provides the organization with visionary leadership, strong direction and clarity to its policy development."


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Joe Pike

Contributing Editor, Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico

Joe Pike is senior editor for travAlliancemedia and has spent over a decade extensively covering the Caribbean, Mexico, Central...

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