Business View Caribbean, November/December 2018

8 9 OPENING LINES AIRBNB AND CTO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIP TO DRIVE TOURISM IN REGION A irbnb hosted Hugh Riley, CEO and Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), at its San Francisco headquarters recently, and announced new commitments to promoting authentic and sustainable travel in the region, as well as continuing to grow economic opportunity. Last year alone, over 1.6 million guests booked accommoda- tion in the Caribbean through the platform, an increase of 117 percent compared to 2016. Through collaboration with local stakeholders, Airbnb has demonstrated its commitment to sup- port healthy tourism and has signed collaboration or voluntary tax collection agreements with 14 countries in the region. During Riley’s visit to Airbnb headquarters, the CTO and Airb- nb signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) pledging to