CORAL GABLES, FL | The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) met with several senior executives from chain hotels with properties in the Caribbean region to reconstitute the previously successful Chain Hotels Forum, originally created 15 years ago, and agreed to further discussion on the creation of a "Communications Campaign" to educate and impress upon the people and the governments of the region the importance of tourism to the local economies throughout the Caribbean.

The participating senior executives from the chain hotels all agreed that an advocacy program was one of the primary goals of the group, especially in light of the upcoming CARICOM Heads of Government meeting set for the beginning of July.

CHTA executives will be putting together a proposed plan of action to include both advertising in local Caribbean newspapers as well as a public relations campaign designed to meet the criteria set by the Chain Hotels Forum. This plan of action will be reviewed and discussed at the next meeting of the Forum on June 4 in Miami.

Other topics of discussion will include a focus on marketing in the down economy, human resource issues, the environment and the dwindling airline seat capacity in the region.

"We were very pleased with the turnout for our first meeting in April and expect that the momentum will grow as the chain hotels with properties in the Caribbean and CHTA have mutual goals that will benefit the growth and development of tourism in the Caribbean," said Enrique de Marchena Kaluche, president of CHTA.

For more information contact CHTA in Coral Gables, FL at 305-443-3040 or by e-mail [email protected].

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 .

Theresa Oakes/Josh Kahn
KTCpr
516-594-4100
CHTA