Barbados will host a major regional tourism conference in June, which new Barbados Tourism Authority chairman Adrian Elcock believes will serve to define a new agenda for the Caribbean’s tourism product.
The inaugural Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Conference scheduled for June 1 to 3 is expected to attract about 400 delegates.
Elcock told a Press launch at Hilton Barbados yesterday: “If we are to define a new agenda for our tourism product which has been going through some level of turmoil . . . we need to bring all the players to the table and share the best practices from those that have done well and we need to learn the lessons from those that have not done well.”
Elcock saw such “open and frank dialogue” as the best way to set a new regional tourism agenda.
The BTA executive also observed that with 22 million visitors coming to the Caribbean each year, it was necessary to examine how each destination could get its fair share of that number.
Director and chief executive officer of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Alex Sanguinetti said the conference would set the stage for retooling of the regional tourism industry.
He believed that by working together the region would not only maximise the economic benefits of tourism, but would also ensure that the industry lived up to its social and corporate responsibilities.
The CHTA boss pointed to the Caribbean’s unique brand which he suggested should be promoted in partnership.
