WILLEMSTAD — The Curaçao Tourism Development Foundation (CTDF) has appointed Paul Pennicook to Managing Director/CEO, effective immediately.
The Jamaican-born Pennicook, who previously served twice as Jamaica’s Director of Tourism, also held senior executive positions at SuperClubs and Sandals Resorts. He also served as President/CEO of Couples Resorts and was Senior Vice President of Air Jamaica.
Under his first tenure as Jamaica’s Director of Tourism, he oversaw a successful restructuring exercise that resulted in a more global marketing-focused Tourism Board, and he is credited with having implemented strategies that resulted in record increases in visitor arrivals on both occasions that he served.
Pennicook is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a degree in Hotel Management. He is fluent in both English and Spanish.
On his new role, Pennicook said in a statement: “I’m respectful of the century-old history of The Curaçao Association for the Promotion of Foreign Visits and I’m cognizant of the strides that have been made in recent years to increase tourism arrivals to Curaçao by both the public and private sector. It will be my privilege to work with industry partners to continue to build on those achievements.”
Pennicook also added that he plans to immediately engage his colleagues at the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB), the Curaçao Hospitality and Tourism Association (CHATA), the Curaçao Ports Authority (CPA), the Airport Authority and other leaders of the tourism sector, to “hear their thoughts on the state of Curaçao’s tourism industry and to share my views.”
He also highlighted the unique challenges that Curaçao is currently facing, namely the impact Venezuela’s state of affairs has on visitor arrivals.
“One thought is to have the CTB accelerate engagement in our primary markets while seeking out opportunities in new and emerging markets to counter the shortfall of arrivals from Venezuela,” he added. “My objective is to ensure that Curaçao is positioned strongly to capitalize on growth opportunities. The careful thought that went into creating Curaçao’s new global brand, Feel It For Yourself’ makes my job easier and I’m thrilled to be a part of the roll out and for us to hit the ground running.”
