A new approach to the region
By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Industry is eyeing a new approach in its interaction with the region: the “hub and spoke” model,” according to Emil Lee, the CHTA’s president.
Lee said he was pleased with regional efforts towards strengthening the National Hotel and Tourism Associations in the Caribbean, and cited a new era of public-private sector collaboration between the CHTA and the Caribbean Tourism Organization, representing point of optimism for the future of the industry.
“CHTA is actively working to strengthen the national associations, facilitating and empowering them and improving their effectiveness and efficiency,” Lee said. “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 practices in the region.”
The transformation comes as the CHTA prepares the launch of CHIEF (the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum), a new annual event that will bring together tourism industry leaders, hotels, and allied members to educate attendees on strategies to increase revenue, save money, and improve efficiency.
“CHIEF has ignited a renewed excitement among the membership as both independent hoteliers and chain hotels around the region are viewing this as an opportunity to network with industry colleagues and learn about best practices that both small and large hotels are using to become more successful,” Lee said.
The event will take place in Puerto Rico from October 2-4, and, according to Lee, will foster the continuation of a solid relationship between the private and public sectors through the hotel industry and government tourism agencies.
In a statement, the CHTA said that Lee and the organizations other officers and executives are “very happy” with this dialogue on tourism across the region.
“It is the beginning of the future,” added Lee.