From Hospitality net

THE CARIBBEAN — One of the most highly anticipated panels of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association’s (CHTA) upcoming Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) is “Cuba: Opportunity or Threat?” which will take place on the closing day of the conference (Sunday, Oct. 4) from 3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.”Cuba: Opportunity or Threat?” will delve into how the US-Cuba normalization affects Caribbean business and how hotels can minimize any potential downside impact. Additionally, it will explore the positive opportunities Cuba may present to stimulate the region’s growth as a whole.This highly-anticipated session – expected to be standing-room only – will be moderated by Anton Edmunds, Principal, The Edmunds Group International, and will feature the following panelists:

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Principal Partner, BedfordBakerGroup
Marla Dukharan, Group Economist, Caribbean Banking, Royal Bank of Canada
Simon Suarez, President, ASONAHORES
Hugh Riley, CEO and Secretary General, Caribbean Tourism Organization
“The efforts towards the normalization of trade and travel between the United States and Cuba opens the door to a renewed focus on Caribbean tourism,” said Edmunds. “Whether this presents an opportunity or a threat depends in large measure upon the region’s stakeholders. We’ve put together an exceptional cross-sectoral group of panelists for an open and interactive discussion on the subject,” he added.The panelists will expand upon points raised in a paper released by CHTA this summer titled: “Cuba: The Great Disruption for the Good of the Caribbean.

” The paper sparked debate within the region about the impact which the lifting of the US trade and travel embargo would have on the industry. While the general consensus was to embrace full normalization, numerous concerns surfaced. There is a consensus within CHTA and the region’s private sector that the Caribbean must do a better job at embracing tourism as its primary economic development and employment generation tool and a means to reduce the mounting debt of many jurisdictions. According to Edmunds, “the session promises to be lively, enlightening and engaging.”

CHIEF, taking place Oct. 2-4, 2015 at El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Puerto Rico, offers a variety of educational tracks lead by experts from a variety of travel, tourism and hospitality industry segments featuring panels with one-on-one discussions in Sales & Marketing, Operations and Sustainability.

“Our aim is to raise awareness about both the challenges and the opportunities to the region following the removal of travel barriers to Cuba,” said Emil Lee, president of CHTA. “Now that the issue has had a few months to marinate, we have a clearer vision and look forward to sharing insider insight with attendees,” Lee added.

CHIEF offers peer-to-peer exchange sessions in Operations, Sales & Marketing and Sustainability, which are focused on helping businesses generate revenue, reduce costs and increase efficiency. Hoteliers will walk away with practical business tips and best practices for tackling operational and marketing challenges. The educational tracks will be led by experts from a variety of travel, tourism and hospitality industry segments featuring roundtable panels.

As part of the CHIEF program, an awards luncheon will be held where CHTA honors the “Stars of the Caribbean Hotel Industry” including Caribbean Hotelier of the Year, Association Executive of the Year, Supervisor of the Year, Employee of the Year andAllied Member of the Year as well as the winners of the new CHIEF Awards.A description of all winning entries can be found at http://chtachiefawards.weebly.com.

CHIEF is organized with the support of hosts Interval International and MasterCard; platinum sponsors Cable and Wireless, JetBlue Getaways, Travelzoo and TripAdvisor, gold sponsors Adara, Aireko, AskMe, Best Doctors, Bonnier Corp, CaribbeanJobs.com, Choice Hotels International, Expedia, JackRabbit Systems Inc., Lutron Electronics, MobiManage, OBMI, Oracle, Sojern, STR, The New York Times, travAlliancemedia and World Media.

Complete CHIEF event details are available at www.chtachief.com. To register, email [email protected] or call 786-476-8623.

CARIBBEAN HOTEL & TOURISM ASSOCIATION
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) is a federation of 32 National Hotel Associations with more than 600 member hotels and over 300 allied members. CHTA is the largest representative of the private sector in the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry. We are the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region – and CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshaling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions.
CHTA, including the events staged by the association, is supported by Strategic Partners Cable & Wireless, HVS, Interval International, MasterCard, OBM International, Tambourine and TravelZoo. For more information, visit http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.

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