President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Karolin Troubetzkoy says an area of focus for the association in 2018 will be building resilience into infrastructure and communities.
In her New Year’s message, Troubetzkoy said 2017 was a year “which many of us would rather forget, and particularly, wished the month of September never happened.
Tested by hurricanes
“As if our regional challenges with Zika had not been enough, two Category 5 storms put tested us as never before – a test for our region, governments, people and, also, for CHTA.”
The CHTA President, however, noted during the challenges and their consequences, the region embraced “our oneness and were inspired to create the One Caribbean Family initiation, encouraging international and regional tourism communities to pledge their support.
Hopes One-Caribbean spirit lives on
“It was heartening to see some of our global partners and members from the many parts of our region untouched by the storms rally to help damaged destinations. I hope the One Caribbean Family spirit will live on as there is plenty left to do,” she said.
Concerning climate change, she said adaptation is no longer an option – but an urgent necessity. “We will use the knowledge gained from dealing with those unprecedented storms and flooding to make us better prepared for whatever weather-related events the future holds.”
Regional marketing initiative needed
According to Troubetzkoy a regional marketing initiative is needed although some tourism authorities and governments are not in agreement.
“I feel compelled to note that the press coverage after the hurricanes has shown us we are being identified as a brand, whether we believe in such a brand or not. Therefore, we must be able to act and, more important, react when that brand is threatened. We have been talking about public-private partnerships to promote tourism and make it the main economic driver for years. It’s time to put some sustained funding behind these well-meaning words and finally make it happen.”
She said that while discussion is currently centered on CARICOM (Caribbean Community) jurisdictions, “we at the CHTA call for this to become a pan-Caribbean effort.”
Celebrate accomplishments
The president said despite the challenges of 2017, the region should also celebrate accomplishments “to show the world how we have, like the mythical phoenix, risen from the very real ashes of last year’s disasters to fly boldly and proudly into the golden promise of the new.”
She said during 2018 the CHTA will continue to “focus on the development of our people, including formally integrating the voice of the region’s youth through a new CHTA governance mechanism; mitigating the impact of the effects of hurricanes, climate change, mosquito-borne diseases, political uncertainty and other challenges.”
Troubetzkoy, who is in her last five months of her presidency said she looks forward to welcoming incoming president Patricia Affonso-Dass of the Ocean Hotels group in Barbados.
“To her I say, may your presidency coincide with some calm after these storms.”
