In Brief: New regional gathering will explore how sports can drive tourism growth, support community health and expand opportunities across the Caribbean
Anguilla will host the inaugural Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Sports Tourism Summit, Aug. 12-14, 2027, creating a new regional platform focused on harnessing the growing intersection of sports, tourism and economic development.
The announcement was made during CTO’s State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC) in Georgetown, Guyana, where Caribbean tourism leaders met under the theme “Tourism Futures: Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive.”
The Anguilla summit will bring together tourism and sports officials, event organizers, athletes, sports organizations, destination marketers, private-sector partners and other stakeholders to examine how Caribbean destinations can use sports to attract visitors, stimulate economic activity, strengthen destination brands and create opportunities for local communities.
“Sports is one of the most powerful connectors we have in the Caribbean, and its potential as a driver of tourism deserves greater regional attention,” said Dona Regis-Prosper, secretary-general and CEO of CTO. “This summit will create a dedicated space for destinations to share ideas, build partnerships and look more strategically at how sporting events and experiences can contribute to tourism growth while generating meaningful benefits for our people. Anguilla is an excellent destination in which to begin that conversation.”
The summit also represents an opportunity for Anguilla to build on its growing focus on sports tourism while showcasing its wider tourism product and capabilities in the meetings, incentives, conferences and events market.
Cardigan Connor, Anguilla’s minister of health, tourism and sports and a former first-class cricketer, said hosting the inaugural summit reflects the destination’s ambition to play a larger role in the development of sports tourism across the Caribbean. “Having spent much of my life in sports, I have seen firsthand the doors it can open,” Connor said. “Anguilla sees tremendous potential at the intersection of sports and tourism — not only to attract visitors and generate economic activity, but also to provide pathways to training, international exposure, scholarships and careers for young Anguillians and Caribbean nationals.”
Connor said Anguilla’s expanding sports ecosystem, including its established tennis culture and growing reputation for golf, provides a strong foundation on which to build. “Sports bring people together and generate reasons to travel,” he said. “With our tennis facilities, championship golf offerings and deep sporting traditions, we have an opportunity to position Anguilla more deliberately in this market. Hosting the first CTO Sports Tourism Summit allows us to showcase our strengths while helping to advance a regional conversation around this burgeoning market.”
He also highlighted the connection between sports, tourism and health, including the possibility of using sporting initiatives to raise funds to support people affected by cancer. Reflecting on the disease’s impact on members of the Caribbean cricketing community and families across the region, he pointed to an opportunity to bring people together through sports in support of a shared cause.
Anguilla has long incorporated sports tourism into its destination development strategy, with sporting activities and events complementing the island’s established appeal in luxury leisure travel, culinary experiences, wellness and other niche markets.
Jameel Rochester, director of tourism for the Anguilla Tourist Board, said the summit provides an important opportunity to introduce more tourism professionals and industry partners to the breadth of the Anguilla experience. “For Anguilla, sports tourism is about much more than staging an event. It is about creating another compelling reason to visit the destination and then connecting those visitors with our accommodations, restaurants, beaches, culture, experiences and, most important, our people,” Rochester said.
“The summit allows us to demonstrate that a small destination can develop distinctive experiences, build smart partnerships and deliver the high level of hospitality for which Anguilla is known.”
Additional details on the CTO Sports Tourism Summit, including venue, program, speakers and registration information, will be announced in the coming months.
SOTIC was supported by official conference partners Amadeus and the Inter-American Development Bank, Tourism Intelligence Awards sponsor ASM Global Route Development, contributing sponsors the Association of Value Airlines, Digicel Business and Atlantic Suites Hotel, Youth Congress sponsor Carnival Corporation, and official airline partner interCaribbean Airways.