The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is facilitating the training of nine Haitian nationals in Barbados from November 12-30, 2012, as part of the Bank’s continued support to private sector development in Haiti.

Eight of the participants in this training initiative are employees of five leading hotels in Haiti.  They are Ms. Marie Nathalie Pierre, Ms. Martine Charles, Mr. Jean-Will Elizer, Ms. France Euphonise Vixamar, Mr. Emmanuel Carl Jr. Girault, Ms. Pascale Marie-Josee St. Fleur, Mr. Steeve Delva and Mr. Ronald Bonne-Année.  Six of them are attached to the Crane Residential Resort, and two to the Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, where they are undergoing training in Front Desk Operations and Food and Beverage Management.

The additional person, Ms. Claude Valerie Louis, who is Executive Director of the Haiti Tourism Association (HTA), is attached to the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA).  The exposure to the BHTA’s operations is intended to assist the Haitian counterpart organisation in developing an action plan to enhance its operations with a view to providing new and improved services to its members, and to implement projects and activities aimed at developing the tourism sector in Haiti.

The HTA is one of the main agencies involved in the development of the tourism sector in Haiti and it represents, protects, guides and informs its members to enable them to adapt to new realities and improve the performance of their businesses.  HTA membership includes hotels, guest houses, art galleries, souvenir shops, airlines, tour operators and travel agencies.

This group training is being facilitated through CDB’s Caribbean Technological Consultancy Services (CTCS) Network, in collaboration with the HTA.  It forms part of a series of CDB/CTCS training activities related to hospitality services in support of Haiti’s Tourism Master Plan, which was recently developed by the Government of Haiti as part of a number of new initiatives to stimulate economic growth and development in Haiti.

The training activities are, therefore, intended to contribute to filling the void created by a number of qualified persons who have migrated from Haiti after the earthquake, and to complement the limited training provided in Haiti due to the absence of a well-established hotel trades training institution.