AFTER five years at the helm of the Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd (TTAL), CEO Louis Lewis has resigned.

Chair of the TTAL board Alicia Edwards revealed this as she addressed the media virtually on Tuesday.

Edwards said Lewis, who served in the position since 2017, submitted his resignation in June and it was accepted by the board.

The resignation is effective from August 12.

Edwards said, “His contract is actually not up. His contract comes to an end in 2023, but he was not interested in a renewal, and thereafter he would have submitted his resignation. His last day at work is actually August 12, so he is actually CEO and in place until August 12.”

She said Lewis has been helping to ensure a smooth transition.

“It was not my choice to have the CEO walk away so early in the process, but he has opted to go. We are closing out in a very professional and a very calm manner. Mr Lewis has been integral in helping us do the transitions.”

Edwards thanked Lewis for his service to the agency and Tobago and wished him the best in his future endeavours.

“When he came on board in 2017, the agency was just an executive council approval note and a budget I think of less than $1 million. There was nothing: there was no staff, there was no physical presence and he, along with the former board, has worked to bring the agency to where it is today.

"We have now been handed the baton. As we do what we have to do, we want to recognise and honour the work of those before us."

The position is bring advertised.

Lewis, she said, "has been integral in helping us getting out the request for proposals for an executive search firm to help us find a new CEO, and that new CEO we hope to have on board by December of this year.

"The tenders close at the end of this week and the board is determined to bring stability back to the organisation. We think that it is important for the agency to have a confirmed head, not somebody acting but somebody who is confirmed, somebody who is experienced and somebody who is dedicated to do the things that we want to do.”

She said the agency has an ambitious agenda.

“This is a bump in the road. We are determined to do even difficult things well and so we are closing out with Mr Lewis with decency and in a way that will make all of us proud.”

Contacted about his decision to resign, Lewis said : "It was a decision I made on my own." He did not elaobrate.

Lewis's resignation came almost a month after Tourism Trinidad Ltd (TTL) CEO Kurtis Rudd was fired, after just ten months on the job.

Efforts to contact Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris proved futile as all calls went unanswered.

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