CTO Announces Relief Fund to Assist Haiti

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. January 19, 2010

January 18, 2010 - The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) is seeking donations for its CTO Relief Fund to provide monetary assistance to the people of Haiti following Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake. Haiti is a member of the CTO, whose Relief Fund provides support for member countries impacted by natural disasters. The CTO is enlisting the help of governments across the Region along with supporters from around the world, to mobilize and encourage assistance for the government and people of Haiti. The CTO is using all of its offices to facilitate the process.

“The situation is dire and the time to help is now,” said Hugh Riley, Secretary General of the CTO. “In other times of need, the Caribbean as a Region has generously come together to provide assistance to those devastated by natural disasters, and we are confident that this will be the case once again.”

Monetary donations can be made via the CTO's tourism industry website, www.onecaribbean.org, or checks may be written to the Caribbean Tourism Organization Relief Fund and sent to the CTO's New York office located at 80 Broad Street, Suite 3200, New York, NY 10004.

According to Red Cross reports, as many as three million people (one-third of the country's population) have been affected by the earthquake, which collapsed government buildings and caused tremendous damage to hospitals, housing communities, banks, and schools. Along with mounting causalities, debris and collapsed bridges are making access to effected areas extremely difficult and telephone service and electricity are out in many locations throughout Haiti.

“We know that through the world's combined support, and the strength and faith-filled resolve of the Haitian people themselves, Haiti will recover,” said Hon. John Maginley, Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. “But everyone's help is needed to make it happen.”

About the Caribbean Tourism Organization The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with the 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 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.

The CTO's New York office is located at 80 Broad St., Suite 3200, New York, NY 10004, USA: Tel: (212) 635-9530; Fax: (212) 635-9511; E-mail: [email protected]; CTO's London office is located at The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1BP, England. Tel: 011 44 208 948 0057; Fax: 011 44 208 948 0067; E-mail: [email protected]; CTO Canada is located at 2 Bloor Street West, Suite 2601, Toronto, Ont. M4W 3E2, Canada. Tel: (416) 935 0767; Fax: (416) 935-0939; E-mail: [email protected]. CTO Headquarters is located at One Financial Place, Collymore Rock, St, Michael, Barbados; Tel: (246) 427-5242; Fax: (246) 429-3065; E-mail: [email protected]. For more information, please visit www.caribbeantravel.com or www.onecaribbean.org. Get the latest CTO updates on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ctotourism. Connect with CTO on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CaribbeanTourismOrganization.