BARBADIAN HOTELIERS have been included in the move towards a new mode of operation for the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Associatoin (CHTA).
CHTA president Emil Lee reported progress in the organisation’s shift from “a traditional top down hierarchy to a hub and spoke model where the CHTA becomes the hub for the Caribbean’s national associations”.
Speaking in the context of his first year as CHTA head, Lee said he was pleased that the focus on strengthening the national hotel and tourism associations throughout the region was evolving quickly. He also cited a new era of public-private sector collaboration between CHTA and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, a partnership that “has emerged as a point of optimism for the industry’s future”.
Lee recently visited and met with local CHTA members and ministers of tourism in various countries including Antigua, The Bahamas, Barbados and Belize.
“CHTA is actively working to strengthen the national associations, facilitating and empowering them and improving their effectiveness and efficiency,” said Lee.
“The CHTA is in the process of fundamentally restructuring by evolving from a traditional top down hierarchy to a hub and spoke model where the CHTA becomes the hub for the Caribbean’s national associations, allowing the easy sharing of information, especially on the best and worst pracctices in the region.”
Lee believes the membership of CHTA is embracing the changes taking place within the organisation and is encouraged by a growing dialogue that is drawing hoteliers, allied members and the public sector together to proactively look at improving tourism.
“I see more members that support what we are doing and are hungry for the changes in leadership that is moving CHTA to the prominent position it has held in the past,” said Lee.
This transformation comes as the association is about to launch CHIEF (the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum), a new annual event designed to focus on hotel industry operations and marketing with an eye on sustainable tourism.
CHIEF takes place from October 2 to 4 in Puerto Rico. Its focus is to facilitate exchanges between hotels, tourism industry leaders and allied members to help attendees network in a fun environment and learn how to increase revenue, save money and improve efficiency. (SC/PR)