On April 12th, CHATA held its Annual General Meeting at the Cinemas Renaissance Curaçao Resort & Casino where members received a presentation of the financial statements of the organization, an update on the challenges of the industry and an outlook for 2017. In line with its silent campaign titled “Asina No” CHATA emphasized that in order to achieve different results in 2017, all stakeholders on the island must take responsibility for the tourism sector and take concrete actions to improve the industry.
During the official AGM, CHATA’s President & CEO, Miles Mercera opened up the meeting with the keywords “We are done talking, now It is time for action”. “As we stand on the verge of 2017, where we commemorate our 50th anniversary and we look back at 2016, the most important lesson that comes to mind is that to grow and progress one must be willing to change and take action. If we are truly committed to this industry we call our own we must commit to stepping out of our comfort zone to make things happen for Curaçao and demand that all stakeholders do the same. We have to take ownership of important issues within our community such as, safety and security of our visitors, cleanliness of our island, improved tourism experience and demand a stable government who puts tourism first.”
During the meeting, CHATA also invited a panel consisting of leading tourism entities to discuss methods on how to tackle current challenges. The panel consisted of Caroline Harter (TUI), Cedric Nubul (Hilton Curaçao), Don Werdekker (Honorary Member CHATA), Juliette Buddingh (Business Serenity) and Robbin Vogels (Avila Beach Hotel). The most important take away from the panel is that CHATA and its members are aware of the needs of the industry, take responsibility to improve the sector and are committed to making 2017 a year of action & execution.
The priorities for the CHATA Board for 2017 include the following action points:
- Growing Visitor Spending while focusing on achieving higher ADR/REVPAR.
- Advocate that the restructuring of CTDF should take place including the appointment of a professional CEO for CTB.
- Increase Arrivals with growth in Air Service (While maintaining our current Air Service)
- To be an effective public policy voice for membership.
- To be our members’ primary resource for quality and professional membership services, industry information and analysis.
CHATA concluded its meeting by encouraging all to pro-actively step out and make a change together. A change for the better. Because #tourismmatters!
