Bridgetown, Barbados -- August 22, 2007 - With Hurricane Dean moving past the Caribbean region, The Caribbean Tourism Development Company's (CTDC) Joint Chief Executive Officer Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace praised the organization and preparedness of the islands in the region who faced the Category Four storm head on, while expressing concern for Mexico and the United States Gulf region which are currently in the storm's path.

"We continue to monitor the aftermath of Hurricane Dean and offer our sympathies for those adversely impacted by the storm," said Vanderpool-Wallace. "One thing that stood out, however, was the overall level of preparedness the region showed as the storm approached, as well as the response from the island nations. There is no doubt in my mind that the Caribbean region is better prepared overall today than in years past and we appreciate the cooperation of our guests as well as our hotel, airline, and travel trade partners in helping weather this situation and make what appears will be a strong and quick recovery."

Vanderpool-Wallace noted that relatively few of the Caribbean region's islands were directly impacted by Hurricane Dean and that cleanup was already well in progress.

Alec Sanguinetti, Director General & CEO of the Caribbean Hotel Association and Joint Chief Executive Officer of CTDC, noted: "The hotel sector on the few islands that were impacted had withstood the storm and were planning a quick return to normal operations."

Both Vanderpool-Wallace and Sanguinetti also expressed concern on behalf of the Caribbean region for those who remain in the path of the storm. "Our thoughts and prayers are now with those in Mexico and the United States Gulf region," said Vanderpool-Wallace. "We hope those areas will be spared significant damage."

The Caribbean TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Company

The Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC) is a marketing and business development unit, owned equally by the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). Its mission is to own, promote, protect, advance and enhance the Caribbean brand.

The CTDC combines the resources of the Caribbean region's destinations, accommodations and service providers to create a viable, cohesive, business unit that is able to identify commercial opportunities and allow the members of CHA and CTO to benefit collectively from those opportunities in ways that individually they could not. In all its endeavors the company will engage only in activities that honor the Caribbean brand and benefit the members of CHA and CTO.