Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/140546
•pg_38-45__BMT_pg3-58 6/21/13 11:14 PM Page 44 CARIBBEAN CORNER CHOICE HOTELS FORECASTS STRONG CARIBBEAN TOURISM OUTLOOK The Caribbean should have a good year in tourism, stated a hotel executive, who pointed to the encouraging outlook from delegates attending the recent Caribbean Travel Marketplace in the Bahamas. Bill Clegg, regional vice president, Brand Performance and Programs for Choice Hotels International, reported the landmark travel event – produced by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) – featured upbeat "match making" opportunities for hotels, tourism attractions, tour operators and travel partners throughout the region and the marketplace. "As we (Choice Hotels International) execute our marketing strategy and renew our commitment to product and brand performance in the Caribbean this year, we are especially buoyed by the sentiment emerging from stakeholders about a part of the region we at Choice Hotels hold dear," said Clegg. Choice Hotels, one of the world's largest hotel franchisors, is the franchisor for eight hotels in the Caribbean islands of the Bahamas, Curaçao, Grand Cayman and Puerto Rico, and this year expects to add at least three new destinations to its regional roster. Clegg, who is also regional vice president of CHTA's Board of Directors and Chairman of the Membership Standing Committee, said his optimism about the Caribbean was corroborated by a recent statement from Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Beverly Nicholson-Doty of the United States Virgin Islands. The state of Caribbean tourism gives us reason to be optimistic. This optimism is based on the positive signs of growth following earlier down years. We are optimistic because we see arrival numbers rising, particularly out of North America; we see hotel revenues moving in the right direction, albeit with moderate acceleration and we see tourist spend on the increase," she reported. "All the signs suggest Caribbean tourism is rallying," the newly elected chairman noted. The Caribbean region as a whole has regained ground lost from the heat of the global economic depression in 20082009, she stated. 44 NEW TOURISM PUSH LAUDED A former finance minister hailed the joining together of tourism organizations across the Caribbean to revamp the regional website, www.CaribbeanTravel.com as a "wonderful and much needed show of unity in an increasingly crowded global market." "This is the best way to stay competitive as competing destinations in other regions move aggressively," stated Zhivairgo Laing, former finance minister of the Bahamas. "Kudos has to go out to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) for recognizing the need for a common approach to marketing and a common electronic presence," he added. "As a former finance minister, I know full well that tourism is by far the biggest driver of our economies – and as a region we have to keep moving it to another level to ensure our treasuries have the resources to look after our families and our environment – and the new www.CaribbeanTravel.com helps us do that," stated Laing. The website was created by the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC), jointly owned by the official organizations of the region – the CTO representing the governments, and the CHTA with hundreds of hotels across the region as well as wider tourism partners. Laing congratulated Beverly Nicholson-Doty, CTO chairman and commissioner of Tourism for the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Richard Doumeng, president of CHTA for the revitalized website. "We expect that our revitalized website will set a new standard for promoting our Caribbean region and become the cornerstone of our cooperative regional marketing strategy for the Caribbean brand under the 'Life Needs the Caribbean' theme," said Nicholson-Doty, CTDC's co-chair. "This is an unprecedented level of regional cooperation between governments and the private sector in tourism," she added. B M & T ••• May/June 2013 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com