HAWLEY, PA – Following a brief illness, Jim Furey, a pioneering voice in Caribbean tourism and founder of Furey & Associates, passed away May 31. He was 85.
A trusted advisor, gifted storyteller, and tireless advocate for the region he helped bring to prominence, Jim got his start in the publishing business at the Bayonne Times and later worked at the New York Herald Tribune. Later, he joined The New York Times and in 1969, was named Western Hemisphere Promotion Manager, where he pioneered a series of special advertising sections dedicated to the Caribbean. These early efforts helped define the way the region would be introduced to generations of travelers.
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In 1976, Jim and his wife Barbara founded Furey & Associates, a marketing and communications firm focused on what they called “travel marketing through targeted publishing.” Over nearly three decades, the firm became one of the most respected marketing agencies working to promote the emerging islands of the Caribbean. Jim served as a publisher’s representative for some of the country’s most prestigious media brands—including Business Week, The Los Angeles Times, Southern Living, Sports Illustrated, U.S. News & World Report, and The Star-Ledger—building lasting bridges between destinations and the audiences they hoped to reach.
Early in his career, Jim joined with other travel industry luminaries to launch the first Caribbean Tourism Association chapter (now the Caribbean Tourism Organization – CTO) in New York, laying important groundwork for promoting the region. In the early 1980s, he and Barbara launched Caribbean Sales Seminars, a precursor of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s annual State of the Industry Conference.
Widely admired for his intelligence, warmth, and wit, Furey believed deeply in the power of connection. He leaves behind an industry better for his presence and a legacy that continues in the work of those he mentored, collaborated with, and inspired.
