Caribbean Tourism Organisation appoints LOTUS as UK PR Agency
Specialist travel PR consultancy, LOTUS, has been appointed by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation Chapter UK & Europe as its PR agency reporting to secretariat head Carol Hay and Chairman Colin Pegler.
The CTO Chapter UK & Europe is the only Caribbean industry member network in the UK. Formed 19 years ago the private public sector partnership represents more than 65 travel related companies from airlines and cruise lines, to tour operators, hotel representatives, destinations and media agencies.
Focused on increasing membership and providing meaningful opportunities for member networking the Chapter is driven with increasing tourist numbers, revenue and overall business to the Caribbean.
The account will be headed up Jules Ugo, CEO and associate director Jo Johnson, LOTUS' in-house Caribbean expert.
Jules has recently taken on the role of LOTUS CEO and has a long-established career in destination promotion overseeing award winning campaigns for flagship national and regional destinations. Her work with trade associations / organisations and industry-bodies is extensive and currently LOTUS holds the accounts for LATA (Latin American Travel Association), ETOA (European Tourism Association) and Focus (a business travel consortium).
Jo has been involved in promoting the Caribbean for her entire thirty-year career in PR and communications working with Caribbean Connections, and overseeing the communication of its rebrand to ITC, and heading up campaigns for Royal Pavilion and Glitter Bay in Barbados, plus launching the Royal Westmoreland Golf Course. Early in her career she worked with the Bahamas National Tourist Office and latterly Jo advised the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority, heading up their PR and Marketing in the UK, France, Germany and Italy, including directing a global award-winning Digital Detox Campaign.
With the travel industry facing unprecedented challenges in the wake of Covid-19 the role of the Chapter Secretariat team, Carol Hay and Florian Valmy-Devillers, has been paramount since lockdown with the Chapter providing a community for the membership whilst they tackle the impact of a deeply-decreased tourism market in a region wholly reliant on tourism revenue.
Colin Pegler quotes “The Chapter is greatly looking forward to working with LOTUS. Their knowledge of the Caribbean, senior media contacts and expertise in delivering campaigns for trade associations make them an ideal partner for the Chapter during this vital period.”
LOTUS activity will be focused on media outreach targeting consumer and trade media raising awareness of both the individual members of the Chapter and their initiatives and USPs and the wider Chapter activity in line with the overall goal of recruiting and retaining membership.
Jules Ugo quotes: “We are delighted to be working with the CTO Chapter UK & Europe. The Caribbean is very close to the LOTUS heart and we are huge advocates of the region's holiday offering. We are honoured to be supporting the Chapter at this critical time to ensure the profile of the Chapter and therefore the Caribbean is optimised and that tourism to the region bounces back.”
Editorial Enquiries: For more information please contact Jules Ugo LOTUS on 07957 133939 / jules@wearelotus.co.uk