October 27, 2016 (St. John’s, Antigua) – The Honorable Minister of Tourism, Economic Development, Investment and Energy, Asot Michael, has announced the appointment of Richard ‘Ricky’ Skerritt as Chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) Board of Directors. Skerritt will also serve as an advisor to the Minister. As Non-Executive Chairman of the ABTA, Mr. Skerritt will be responsible for overseeing the development of policies and strategies designed to strengthen Antigua and Barbuda’s reputation as a world-class tourism and travel destination. In announcing the recent appointment Minister Michael said, “I am very excited that Ricky Skerritt has agreed to join our Tourism leadership team. We have already begun taking a number of important steps towards revitalizing our tourism product, and Mr. Skerritt’s advice and leadership will be invaluable to us going forward.”
Mr. Skerritt thanked Minister Michael for his warm words of welcome and said that he was honored to become involved in helping Antigua & Barbuda shape an exciting future for the tourism sector. Skerritt said, “I am pleased with the commitment I have seen from Minister Michael and his colleagues to grow tourism in ways that will impact positively on the livelihoods of all local stakeholders. I look forward to doing what I can to assist Minister Michael and his tourism leadership team.”
Minister Michael also thanked outgoing ABTA Chairman, Mr. Rohan Hector, for the hard work he put in during his two-year tenure as Chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority. “Mr. Hector answered my call to serve in an unfamiliar field at a very challenging time, and I am grateful to him for helping us to get to this moment of further change,” said the Tourism Minister.
Ricky Skerritt served as Minister of Tourism in St. Kitts and Nevis for more than ten years between 2004 and 2015. During his outstanding tenure, Skerritt became well known for his change leadership role in driving economic transformation. He was responsible for designing and implementing strategies, rooted in sustainability, which modernized, diversified and grew the St. Kitts tourism economy. Skerritt, a former Caribbean Rhodes Scholar, is also a former Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).