Orlando, Florida | The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) formed a strategic partnership agreement today with the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) during the 2009 ARDA Convention & Exposition at the Marriott World Center Resort in Orlando, March 29-April 2. The partnership provides both organizations opportunities to leverage shared resources, ensuring that the best possible legal and regulatory environment exists for the Caribbean lodging marketplace as a whole.

“The Caribbean is an essential player in tourism and the vacation ownership industry,” said Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of the American Resort Development Association. “I am excited about our partnership with CHTA as we work toward growing the Caribbean resort industry with its extraordinary tourism assets.”

“We are very pleased to have ARDA join with CHTA as a Strategic Partner,” said Alec Sanguinetti, Director General and CEO of CHTA. “The organization opens up a whole new world of opportunities for expansion of our membership benefits at a time when vacation ownership developments with timeshare and mixed use resorts are growing across the Caribbean.

Working together for many years, ARDA has gained a strong level of trust and respect for the leadership and membership of the CHTA. This relationship serves as the platform through which a more formal strategic partnership can thrive, and representatives from both organizations will work together to present a detailed written plan in the coming months.

Following nearly a year of planning, ARDA’s Executive Committee, Board of Directors and members with Caribbean interests agreed to reinvigorate and expand the efforts of the ARDA-Caribbean Committee. This renewed commitment in the Caribbean – with the strength of key alliances – represents a new opportunity to foster and promote growth of the timeshare and shared vacation ownership industry in one of the most important leisure destination markets of the world.

Providing strong legislative advocacy will be the primary strategic priority of the committee, given the growing impact of the global economic downturn. While much of the region’s travel and tourism sector maintained modest growth in 2008, forecasts suggest that the region will experience negative growth in the first three quarters of 2009, according to ARDA.

This type of environment is ripe for legislative challenges that will negatively impact the entire Caribbean travel and tourism industry if not properly addressed. The ARDA-Caribbean Committee recognizes the need to vigorously represent the specific interests of timeshare developers and owners in this context. However, the committee also recognizes the importance of balancing independent action with broader industry collaboration. Now more than ever, it is important for the regional tourism industry to speak in one voice.

For more information, please visit ARDA-Caribbean at .

American Resort Development Association | The American Resort Development Association is the Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries. Established in 1969, ARDA today has over 1,000 members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded companies and international corporations with expertise in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate. The membership also includes timeshare owner associations (HOAs), resort management companies, and owners through the ARDA Resort Owners Coalition (ARDA-ROC).

Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association | The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) aims to facilitate the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members’ needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner. CHTA was founded in 1962; it is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region – and CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshalling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 750 member hotels and 525 allied members. For more information, visit .

Keith Stephenson
407-245-7601
ARDA