AS the fourth Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) got under way in Miami at the end of June, the CEO of the Caribbean’s largest private sector organisation paid tribute to one of its leaders for uniting the region in the aftermath of last September’s hurricanes.
Frank Comito, CEO and Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), lauded the leadership of outgoing CHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy of St. Lucia, for her protection and promotion of the Caribbean brand and also for her personal and corporate support of destinations that were severely impacted by last year’s twin storms.
Speaking ahead of the official opening of CHIEF at the Hyatt Regency Miami, Comito described Troubetzkoy’s presidency as “pervasive and powerful” – from addressing the Zika epidemic, immediately upon taking the reins of the organisation, to helping Caribbean people put their lives back together after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped communities apart.
“Looking back at the many successful rehabilitation and recovery initiatives, it is important to remember the selfless and untiring efforts of Karolin Troubetzkoy who has been a bold champion of our brand and our people,” Comito reflected.
Highlighting Troubetzkoy’s role in the launch of the “One Caribbean Family” initiative, which united hotels and businesses to do good, he added the initiative also underscored the fact that more than 70 percent of Caribbean destinations were not affected by the storms and were ready to welcome visitors so they, in turn, could help affected neighbouring islands and their people.
“Those of us who are open for business are going to benefit from business that was meant for other islands … so we should try to give back,” Troubetzkoy implored last year, encouraging fellow hoteliers to support the Caribbean Tourism Recovery Fund, borne of the “One Caribbean Family” campaign.
The Recovery Fund, administered by the Tourism Cares organisation, is a non-profit organisation supported by the world’s leading tourism companies and organisations, was created to propel long-term recovery and strengthen the ability of impacted destinations to rebound as quickly as possible.
CHTA members and tourism partners within and without the region supported the fund, which raised more than a quarter of a million U.S. dollars, Comito reported.
Programmes focussed on training and education, restoring destination capacity, physical restoration of tourism-related infrastructure, social enterprise development, job creation, hotel training, volunteerism and the environment. (Source: Caribbean 360.com)