Deceased Barbadian cleric and radio talk show host, Rev. Andrew Hatch was hailed for his advocacy that paved the way for the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).
Hatch was one of the major founders and the first vice chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Research and Development Centre (CTRC), which merged with the Caribbean Tourism Association in 1989 to form the CTO. He died last Wednesday at the age of 91.
“As the director of the Caribbean Council of Churches (CCC) in Barbados, Hatch helped lead the charge for an umbrella agency that would undertake not just the marketing of Caribbean tourism, but also the critical areas of research and human resource development,” a CTO statement said.
The CTO said that Hatch, former Puerto Rico deputy director of tourism Carlos Diago and deceased former Barbados tourism minister Peter Morgan fought for “the formation of an institution to examine the undoubted economic benefits, as well as the social and environmental costs of tourism”.
The CTO said the three were involved in a series of consultations in 1971 – the best known of which was in Haiti and organised by the CCC – that laid the foundation for the establishment of the CTO.
“(Hatch’s) invaluable contribution to the concept of regionalism and the development of the Caribbean tourism industry will never be forgotten, and his passing is a great loss to the entire region,” the CTO said.
Hatch was deputy chairman of the CTO for its first 11 years. (AR)
