ST MICHAEL, Barbados: The Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, and the St Vincent and the Grenadines Hotel and Tourism Association,
were recognized by their peers during the 2007 Leadership Conference of the Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives (CSHAE), held May 18-19, 2007 in Barbados, with the 2007 Newsworthy Awards for Excellence in Hotel Association Communications.
The honour, presented by the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) and CSHAE, is awarded every year in recognition of outstanding communications efforts to advance awareness about the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry.
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| Alec Sanguinetti, CHA Director General and CEO; Trudy Nixon, Association Executive, Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association and Sue Springer, Executive Vice President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association and CSHAE President |
The Newsworthy Award for Excellence in Membership Communications was given to the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association (AHTA) for its Membership News, a straightforward, no fuss electronic newsletter (easily read even by smart phones and PDA’s) that contains information on local events and openings, promotes local members’ businesses, includes tourism-related articles and trends, gives information on conferences and CHA news, and requests information for destination publicity purposes.
Anguilla’s Association Executive, Trudy Nixon, mentioned the importance of editing information received before forwarding, in order to render it more relevant to the members at the local level.
“In a recent membership survey, the newsletter received the highest AHTA membership service satisfaction ranking, with 66% of respondents stating they were ‘very satisfied’ with it; 29% saying they were satisfied; and only 5% indicating they were dissatisfied,” said Nixon.
Meanwhile, Dawn W. Smith, from the St Vincent and the Grenadines Hotel & Tourism Association, received the Newsworthy Award for Excellence in Tourism Awareness, in recognition of her association’s work to demonstrate that "what's good for the tourism and hospitality industry is good for the country and the people."
To raise awareness among the future leaders of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the national hotel association teamed up with the St Vincent Girls High School for a Tourism Internship Program, to introduce high school students to the world of travel and hospitality - and to highlight the career opportunities and career paths available in the sector.
In addition, the Ministry of Tourism and the national hotel association formed a joint private and public sector team for a tour of school visits and a joint booth display at local career fairs.
“To reach the wider community, the Association focused on media relations,” said Smith, explaining that the Association collaborates with a local radio station to produce “Tourism Chit Chat,” a weekly radio commentary program prepared and hosted by members of the Association; this initiative will soon be complemented with a twice-monthly newspaper column.
Lastly, the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association received an Award for Excellence in Special Event Communications, an area never recognised before, but is increasingly more important in the field of communications, where specialization is the single most powerful driving force.
With an electronic single-page document, ‘The Wicket Keeper,’ produced from March 1st to April 26, 2007, the association highlighted useful information maintained its membership up to date on all things related to the ICC Cricket World Cup. The newsletter included special rules and regulations that were in effect for Barbados while the island hosted the event, as well as the match schedule and a local calendar of functions taking place on-island at the time.
Moreover, the bulletin provided members, especially in the accommodation category, with useful tips on addressing the special needs and requirements of persons from different ethnic backgrounds.
“‘The Wicket Keeper’ is an excellent example of an effective communications strategy to serve the membership as it relates to a special project,” said Alec Sanguinetti, director general and CEO of CHA.
Leadership Conference is a professional development meeting that focuses on association management in the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry. Members of CSHAE, comprised of national hotel association executives from 35 Caribbean countries, participated in an intensive, interactive program focusing on improving the financial sustainability of national hotel associations in the region.
The two-day business development program was supported by the Caribbean Regional Sustainable Tourism Programme (CRSTDP) funded by the European Commission, and CHA.
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