New CHTA President Begins Term

By: - July 2nd, 2014

Above: Emil Lee (centre) with CHTA CEO Jeff Vasser and outgoing President Richard Doumeng

By Alexander Britell

MIAMI — The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association has a new president.

Emil Lee, general manager of the Princess Heights Hotel in St Maarten, was officially sworn in to the post at the regional association’s annual general meeting here on Tuesday.

Lee, who was elected to the post in July of 2013, will serve through 2016.

The annual general meeting, which took place at the Hyatt Regency Miami, was held in the context of the CHTA’s annual Taste of the Caribbean culinary competition.

The CHTA also announced a slate of five vice presidents and a treasurer:

• 1st Vice President – Karolin Troubetzkoy, president, St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association and owner and executive director of Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain Resort, St. Lucia

• 2nd Vice President – Stuart Bowe, president, Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association and senior vice president and general manager of Coral Towers at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas

• 3rd Vice President – Karen Whitt, director, Turks & Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association and general manager, Regent Palms Turks and Caicos

• 4th Vice President – Patricia Affonso Dass, immediate past president, Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association and general manager of Ocean Two Resort & Residences, Barbados

• 5th Vice President – William “Bill” Clegg, regional vice president, Franchise Service and Programs for Choice Hotels International

• Treasurer – James Hepple, president and CEO, Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association

News

Southwest Airlines Begins Flights to Three Caribbean Islands

Above: a Southwest Airlines plane By the Caribbean Journal staff Southwest Airlines officially launched its first-ever international service on Tuesday with flights to three Caribbean destinations out of Baltimore. The company began service from Baltimore/Washington to Aruba, Montego Bay, Jamaica and Nassau, Bahamas. “Thousands of our Employees have a hand in launching today’s flights which […]

News

Caribbean Airlines Grounds Flights After Pilots Call in Sick

Above: a Caribbean Airlines plane By the Caribbean Journal staff Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines grounded all of its international and domestic flights on Tuesday after a number of its pilots called in sick in what appears to be an industrial action. In a release, the company said that, while management and the pilots’ Trinidad and Tobago […]

News

Juan Carlos Varela Sworn in As New President of Panama

Above: New Panama President Juan Carlos Varela By the Caribbean Journal staff Juan Carlos Varela was officially sworn in as Panama’s new President on Tuesday. Varela succeeds outgoing President Ricardo Martinelli, who had served in the post since 2009. Varela quickly got to work, promising a series of new initiatives, from English-language education to the […]


Choice Hotels Taps Dennis Wynn For Caribbean Portfolio

Above: the Comfort Suites in Paradise Island (CJ Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff Choice Hotels has named Dennis Wynn to oversee the company’s franchise sales efforts in the Caribbean, the company announced. Wynn, who was appointed Director of Membership for Choice Hotels’ Ascend Hotel collection two years ago, will be responsible “strategic growth and […]

St Lucia Assumes Chair of Organization of American States Permanent Council

Above: St Lucia’s Permanent Ambassador Sonia Merlyn Johnny takes over the chair from St Kitts and Nevis’ Jacinth Lorna Henry-Martin (OAS Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff St Lucia has officially assumed the chair of the Organization of American States’ Permanent Council. Sonia Merlyn Johnny, St Lucia’s Permanent Representative to the OAS, took over the […]

Puerto Rico Eyes Developers For 3,000-Acre Former US Naval Base

Above: the Comfort Suites in Paradise Island (CJ Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff Choice Hotels has named Dennis Wynn to oversee the company’s franchise sales efforts in the Caribbean, the company announced. Wynn, who was appointed Director of Membership for Choice Hotels’ Ascend Hotel collection two years ago, will be responsible “strategic growth and […]

Turks and Caicos Islands Gets First-Ever S&P Sovereign Credit Rating

Above: the Turks and Caicos Islands By the Caribbean Journal staff The Turks and Caicos Islands has received its first-ever sovereign credit rating from Standard & Poor’s. The British Overseas Territory received a rating of “BBB+/A-2” from the New York-based ratings firm, with an outlook of “stable.” S&P said the ratings on TCI reflected its […]