POINTE-A-PITRE, Guadeloupe (CMC):

A top regional tourism executive has called on the region's best brains to get involved in the crucial tourism sector.

Caribbean Tourism Organisation Secretary General, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, said while tourism is the Caribbean's most important sector, it is not the industry of choice for most of the region's best brains.

However, he told delegates at the Third Tourism Human Resources Conference here that the Caribbean cannot take full advantage of the "natural advantage" it has in tourism if the brightest people avoid the industry.