Top Tier Experts Headline Caribbean Investment Confab

Jean Paul Baumgarten's career in the travel and tourism industry spans more than thirty years and four continents. Prior to joining the WTTC, the former executive vice president of corporate, international & industrial affairs and advisor to the Chairman of Air France, Baumgarten was a founding partner of CREWE Associates, a business established in conjunction with United States investors, dedicated to consultancy work and start-up advice for new businesses.

Dr. Douglas Frechtling, founding Director of the U.S. Travel Data Center in 1973, has written extensively on research methods, tourism's economic impact and tourism forecasting. His latest book, Forecasting Tourism Demand: Methods and Strategies, discusses 13 methods of forecasting hotel demand. Dr. Frechtling is the chairman of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management in George Washington University's School of Business & Public Management.

Dr. Peter Yesawich is president and chief executive officer of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, a leading marketing, advertising, and public relations agency in North America. YPB&R is also affiliated with Yankelovich Partners, with whom it co-authors the widely acclaimed National Travel MONITOR research series on the travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans. Dr. Yesawich also serves as a Visiting Associate Professor of Marketing at Cornell University.

In addition, CHTIC will also feature a host of renowned experts in the finance, development, and tourism fields, including banking authority Brendan King, General Manager, International Corporate Finance, Scotiabank; internet visionary Joseph Humphrey, Chief Executive Officer of Travelweb; and respected hoteliers James Brown, President of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Chris Cahill, President and CEO of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Howard Friedman, President of the Americas for Hilton International, among others.

CHTIC has the specific objectives of improving the tourism investment and operating climate across the region; making the investment community aware of the development opportunities available in the Caribbean; and stimulating a continuing flow of both equity and loan capital into the region. In its seventh edition in 2003, the event has grown to become the most important annual event for those interested in investing in one of the world's most beautiful and exciting regions...the Caribbean.

For full speaker line up, conference program and general information, visit , or contact CHA's Meetings Management Department, at telephone 787.725.9139, fax 787.7259108, or email [email protected].

CHA is dedicated to excellence in hospitality, leadership in marketing, and sustainable growth in tourism, to the benefit of its membership and that of the wider Caribbean community. The members of CHA represent the entire spectrum of hospitality industry's private sector, from over 1,100 member hotels in 34 national hotel associations, to allied members including airline executives, tour operators, travel agents, trade and consumer press, hotel and restaurant suppliers, and others. The principal thrusts of CHA are in Advocacy, Training and Human Resource Development, Product Improvement and Marketing and Promotion. CHA is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and maintains a marketing office in Miami, Florida. www.caribbeanhotels.org

The CTO is the region's tourism development agency comprising 33 member governments and a myriad of private sector companies with headquarters in Barbados and marketing operations in New York, London and Toronto. The CTO's primary objective is to provide to and through its members, the services and information needed for the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of the Caribbean people. The organization provides specialized support and technical assistance to member countries in the areas of marketing, human resource development, research and statistics and sustainable tourism development.

BHN brings together nearly two decades of experience developing and organizing the world's most prominent gatherings of the hotel and tourism investment community. At these events (over 35 conferences completed and/or in development), the investment community has come together to network, conduct business and learn about the latest industry trends. They have become "must attend" events for those interested in investing in hospitality real estate. The BHN website, www.burba.com , is the gateway for information about the conferences BHN produces, as well as providing a direct link to important players in the hospitality investment world, including lenders, brokers, architects, designers and hotel industry-related organizations.