ONE of the most familiar faces in Caribbean tourism belongs to a suave American with a ready smile and an irresistible charm.

Zane Kerby is president and CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) which packs the power of 18,000 members, hundreds of whom sell Jamaica and the Caribbean to the world — some exclusively, as if it were their own patrimony.

On Sunday, Kerby was honoured with the Caribbean Award of Excellence for contribution to regional tourism development by a seven-member delegation of regional tourism ministers, supported by Sandals and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, at ASTA’s fourth annual Caribbean Showcase 2025.

The event was hosted by Sandals Resorts International at its South Coast resort in Westmoreland.

“Zane Kerby has been a true champion of tourism for the Caribbean. He has been a champion for travel advisors in every single conversation, every single time, every single opportunity he gets,” said Jamaican Gary Sadler, the Miami-based executive vice-president of sales and industry relations at Unique Vacations, an affiliate of the worldwide representatives of Sandals and Beaches resorts.

The tourism ministers in the delegation at the ASTA showcase were GP Ian Gooding-Edghill, Barbados; Carlos James, St Vincent and the Grenadines; Adrian Thomas, Grenada; Ernest Hilaire, who is also deputy prime minister of St Lucia; Zhavago Jolly, Turks and Caicos Islands; Marsha T Henderson, St Kitts; and Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica.

They were joined in honouring Kerby by secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation Dona Regis-Prosper and Andy Blanco, chief operating officer of Unique Vacations. Sadler recalled that Kerby was the newest of 12 inductees in the Sandals Hall of Fame last year May, during a ceremony at Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines, for his work impacting the Sandals and Beaches organisation.

“We have historically given people the awards [Hall of Fame] who are at the end of their career but we thought it prudent for us to give that award to an individual who is not just championing the cause of tourism, but also someone that is energised every single day.

“And you know, when we spoke to our Executive Chairman Adam Stewart, he thought it was a very important moment to do it, and today, this is one of them in front of you as the tourism ministers make this award of excellence to Zane Kerby,” said Sadler.

“Zane, we thank you for your work in front of this audience, the local and international media. Thank you so much for everything that you do. You really, truly champion the cause of the travel advisor.”

Kerby moved to ASTA from a successful career with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). Beginning in 2009, he held the position of senior vice-president with responsibility for all aspects of the association’s global annual convention. Previously, he was deputy executive director, vice-president of business development, and held a series of other posts of progressively greater responsibility, beginning in August 1999. Kerby earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University. Married with five children, he currently is an assistant coach of an Under-12 basketball team. He names cycling, swimming, and reading as just a few of his favourite activities.

ASTA is the United States’s largest association of travel professionals, advocating for travel advisors, the travel industry and the travelling public. Its mission is to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge, and the enhancement of professionalism.

Caribbean Tourism Organisation Secretary General and CEO Dona Regis-Prosper has an interesting word for Andy Blanco, chief operating officer at Unique Vacations, at ASTA’s fourth annual Caribbean Showcase 2025, at Sandals South Coast resort.