Two Big Tourism Events for Miami

TWO of the Caribbean’s premier tourism events will be staged concurrently in June in Miami during Caribbean-American Heritage Month.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has announced that the Caribbean Hotel Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF), usually held in the fall, will now take place during the first week of June alongside the popular Taste of the Caribbean educational experience, cultural showcase and culinary competition.

CHIEF will be held from June 2 to 4, while Taste of the Caribbean is slated for June 2 to 6. Both events will be held at the Hyatt Regency Miami.

“CHIEF brings together the right information, the right people at the right time – and by producing this event in Miami we expect many more Caribbean stakeholders to benefit from the educational sessions and invaluable peer-to-peer exchange,” said Bill Clegg, Chairperson of CHTA’s Membership Committee who also serves as CHIEF’s Programme Chair.

Clegg, Regional Vice President of Product Development for Choice Hotels International, explained that CHIEF, previously held on two occasions in Puerto Rico, would now be more accessible to Caribbean hoteliers and industry partners who can benefit from wider flight selection and more affordable air options into Miami.

CHIEF incorporates a variety of educational tracks led by experts from many travel, tourism and hospitality industry segments, and features roundtable panels with one-on-one discussions on environmental sustainability, operations, sales and marketing, and technology.

Taste of the Caribbean, the region’s premier culinary competition and cultural showcase, also provides a forum for gathering practical information, developing skills, sampling, purchasing, strengthening supplier relationships and meeting new vendors. One goal of the popular event is to help attendees build food and beverage business and yield bottom line benefits.

The 2017 edition of Taste of the Caribbean will also bring innovative educational sessions for food and beverage professionals that promise to enhance individual skills, and will feature a major consumer component soon to be unveiled.

“There are so many workshops that you can learn from,” says Maureen Bowers, former Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year (2010) from Antigua and Barbuda, speaking on the value of Taste of the Caribbean. “Social networking is also good for professionals. You can even learn from the competitions as well – the practical, physical work of what (other chefs) do.”

Since 1993, the best chefs and culinary teams unite to learn, demonstrate their skills and provide the general public a scintillating exhibition of the most savory and delectable treats of the Caribbean.