WESTERN BUREAU:

The sudden death of interim secretary general and chief executive officer of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Arley Sobers, has left the region in a state of shock.

Sobers, the CTO's director of research and information management, had been acting in the position since July 3 after Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace stepped down to take up the post of minister of tourism in The Bahamas.

Sobers reportedly died in his sleep in New York on Wednesday night. The acting secretary general lived in Barbados, but was en route to Canada where he was to attend a tourism conference.

Dedicated years

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, who is currently at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China, lauded Sobers for his many years dedicated to building the CTO, and his commitment to the region's growth and development.

"He was tireless in his efforts to ensure that the CTO provided vital research and statistics which was used by all the member countries and all persons doing business in tourism," Bartlett said.

"His death is a great loss to the industry and Jamaica joins our Caribbean family in extending our condolences."