CHA head admonishes CARICOM governments
Friday, July 9, 2004
NEW YORK, USA: The new head of the Caribbean
Hotel Association (CHA), Berthia Parle has opened her two-year innings by
commending some and condemning other Caribbean governments for the different
levels of attention they pay to the Caribbean travel and tourism industry that
provides them all with their bread and butter.
Parle, a native of St. Lucia and the first woman to become the president of
the regional hotel grouping, praised some CARICOM Heads of Government at their
annual meeting in Grenada for embracing the industry, but admonished others
for their ignorance of an industry that feeds so many families and is one of
the region’s most potent weapons in the fight against poverty.
"We would like to recognize and compliment the Caribbean Governments that have
embraced this industry and to encourage others to follow their example. Many
governments have spent time, efforts and resources to study the issues and
formulate recommendations and plans about various aspects of the policy agenda
and are head and shoulders above the rest, who continue to bury their heads in
their sandy beaches as if tourism does not exist," said Parle.
Parle, whose membership represents the industry's private sector, called on
governments to consider CHA's request for an Annual Tourism Congress with all
Heads of Government, Ministers and Directors of Tourism, and private sector
leaders, to discuss and consider key policy recommendations and actions to
advance a mutual interest in tourism.
The last tourism summit was held in 2001
which followed the previous tourism summit held 10 years earlier in 1991.
"This industry, which is so vital to the future economic development of the
Caribbean and welfare of its people, cannot, and should not, wait another 10
years for the next tourism summit," she warned.
After presenting findings and recommendations of a new World Travel and
Tourism Council (WTTC) study on the impact of travel and tourism on the jobs
and the economy, she warned the leaders "not to give WTTC any reason to state
in the study, on another occasion, that "the economic benefits of the tourism
industry are generally not understood by public officials, the industry
itself, or the communities where it takes place".
Sources suggest that the CHA had a difficult time to convince the CARICOM
Secretariat to allow them to present their case to the Heads of Government at
their 25th regular meeting which ended yesterday. In the end, the CARICOM
discussion on travel and tourism, which was slated for 10 minutes, continued
for close to an hour. "We are thrilled to have triggered the interest of the
CARICOM heads of Government, and we will strive to increase it to the levels
deserved by this major industry," Parle said.
Back...
Most popular
articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed
Printable
version
| 
