Caribbean Hotel Foundation establishes tourism studies scholarship

Sunday, February 8, 2004

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: With its new and dynamic leadership, the Caribbean Hotel Foundation (CHF) starts off 2004 with a bang, offering an innovative scholarship program designed for Caribbean journalists interested in increasing their understanding and knowledge of tourism in the region. 

"Greater understanding by all constituents of the economic impact of tourism is a fundamental first step in indicating its true value as the economic engine of growth and sustainability for the majority of Caribbean economies," explained Antigua hotelier Robert Sherman, Chairman of the Foundation. 

The scholarship program was inspired by the initiative of the Caribbean Media Organization for Sustainable Tourism (CMOST) to put education and training on the priority list for Caribbean media specialized in tourism. 

"Journalists must have a better understanding of the various and intricate aspects of tourism before they can be expected, or even asked, to report on them," said Olivia Scott, Caymanian journalist and President and founding member of CMOST, during the last Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx V), held in December in Barbados. 

"Through this scholarship, it is expected that Caribbean journalists will be that much closer to being sufficiently armed with not only the training, but the understanding of tourism, in order to create more in-depth, more informed news reports industry workers are calling for," she added. 

The CHF will offer two $2,000 scholarships every year for journalists who wish to follow a short course or workshop related to tourism issues. To qualify, candidates must be full-time journalists affiliated with a Caribbean media outlet, or freelance journalists who regularly contribute to one or various Caribbean media outlets. They must submit 3 samples of his/her articles published in 2003, with the journalist's name on the byline; and 2 letters of recommendation from supervisor/editor. 

Application forms are available on-line as of February 2004 at www.caribbeanhotelfoundation.org. Deadline for submission is March 31st, 2004. 

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