AT A TIME of major economic challenge, the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA) has launched an innovative effort to increase revenue and generate business among its members and the wider business community.
The initiative started last week when the BHTA hosted its first-ever Speed Networking Seminar at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
Officials called the event a total success. It attracted 30 BHTA direct tourism services and supporting services members and gave them the opportunity to network, present and sell their products and services to BHTA Accommodation members.
BHTA chairman Roseanne Myers said having established the “fantastic initiative” for its members, the plan was to extend it to the wider business community, including the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
BHTA Membership Committee chairman Robyn Gollop-Knight called the session a one-of-a-kind opportunity for members.
The speed networking session was structured to give our direct tourism services and supporting services members the opportunity to engage our member hoteliers and villa owners/managers with the view to increasing business and from all reports that is exactly what was achieved,” Gollop-Knight explained.
Myers said her organisation was “also hoping that during CARIFESTA we can host a similar session for businesses coming in for the festival from across the Caribbean”.
BHTA chief executive officer Rudy Grant added: “While on a day-to-day basis we engage in actions to ensure that we represent the interests of our members, we also have to recognise that within our membership there is great value in partnerships. Therefore the ability to bring direct tourism services and accommodation members together makes good sense, especially in a setting such as this.”
One participant, Rachel Cozier, managing director of Baby Gear Hire, said: “The seminar was great. It allowed us to meet people we don’t normally have direct contact with. The feedback we got from the interaction with the hotels is that there is a need for our services. Some did not even know that we existed, so we were able to introduce them to our offerings.” (SC/PR)
