Willemstad (October 19th, 2018) – On Friday, CHATA hosted its Breakfast Meeting of 2018 at CHATA member Omundo Restaurant. The Breakfast Meeting featured presentations from Ms. Martha Valdivia, Director of Membership Development CHTA, Ms. Stacy Cox, President & CEO of the Turks & Caicos Hotel & Tourism Association and Ms. Tisa LaSorte, President & CEO of the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association. As members of the Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives (CSHAE) all speakers provided their intake on the performance of the Caribbean Tourism and its challenges.
CSHAE (Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives) was set up by CHTA to encourage and facilitate networking and exchange of information among Association executives in the region and to strengthen links among national associations. It is therefore a support mechanism for AEs where new and less experienced AEs can benefit from lessons learned and experiences of other AEs. CSHAE convenes on an annual basis for a Leadership Conference focused on improving the management skills of Association Executives through training, dialogues and most importantly sharing of information.
According to Ms. Stacy Cox, President & CEO of the Turks & Caicos Hotel & Tourism Association, creating demand for your island must be of high importance. In order for the Caribbean Tourism to excel it is imperative that each island creates demand by investing in the markets that are showing interest for the destination.
Ms. Martha Valdivia, Director of Membership Development at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), enlightened all present about the core purpose and key activities of CHTA. Being the umbrella association which represents 32 other Caribbean destinations, CHTA is responsible for making sure that the Caribbean Tourism moves forward accordingly on a macro level.
Mr. Miles Mercera, President & CEO of CHATA sat down in a Q&A session with Ms. Tisa LaSorte, President & CEO of Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association (AHATA). According to Ms. LaSorte, Aruba’s tourism is seeing the benefits of a strong collaboration between the public and private sector and we must continue on this path. As an advice for Curaçao, Ms. Lasorte noted to focus on building the demand for the destination and mentioned the millennial as the perfect fit for Curaçao product offering.
“Today we have taken the time to expand our horizon regarding tourism and even nourish our passion for tourism even more” states Miles Mercera. “For the Caribbean Tourism we, as a region, must unify ourselves and become one big Caribbean Family. A common challenge that the Caribbean Tourism is facing is the finding of optimal financial resources. However, this must not restrain us. It should encourage us to approach tourism in an out of the box matter where investment, flexibility and creative thinking play a vital role. By aiming our efforts around one common goal which is to elevate the Caribbean Tourism we can surely guarantee a lucrative industry. Therefore, we are excited as a region to continue strengthening our Caribbean ties and exchanging information with each other.”
CHATA will continue its efforts to involve all relevant stakeholders in development of the tourism industry and will organize similar sessions to explore new and out of the box ideas to further grow our tourism product.
CHATA reminisces on yet another successful and informative meeting and extends its gratitude to its member and partner Maduro & Curiel’s Bank for sponsorship of this well attended Breakfast Meeting at Omundo Restaurant. In partnership we move forward towards achieving a vibrant and sustainable tourism product.
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