Black Meetings and Tourism

July/August 2019

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B M & T ••• July/August 2019 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 44 T R AV E L DATA CARIBBEAN TOURISM IS ROBUST AND RESILIENT CHTA's Director General Advises Investors: Greater Collaboration From Public and Private Sectors Needed to Increase Tourism Growth F rank Comito, CEO and Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Toursim Association CHTA, reassured investors that it was a great time to be in the tourism industry, which continues to be the major economic driver for the Caribbean and for the world. Speaking to the Caribbean Hotel & Resort Investment Summit (CHRIS) at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel recently, Comito reported that tourism is in an unprecedented growth mode with investments in new hotels and upgrades in existing properties contributing to more than one in every five new jobs being created globally. At today's growth rate, Comito reported that tourism is expected to contribute to the creation of over 500,000 new jobs in the Caribbean alone by 2028, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. According to CHTA's 2019 Industry Performance and Outlook Study, the profitability gap for Caribbean hotels is improving with four out of five hotels reporting a net profit in 2018, up from three out of four several years ago. In addition to the global economy, Comito cited the following as drivers which are stimulating new air- lift and consumer demand: growing destination investments in air- port infrastructure, a steady supply of new room inventory, and increased investments by existing hotels in capital improvements. Mr. Comito (right) with CHRIS Lifetime Achievement winner Sir Royston Hopkin of Grenada's Spice Island Beach Resort, while at the conference.

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