Griffith to head new tourism body

Article by SHERRYLYN CLARKE

Barbadian William “Billy” Griffith has been selected to head the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI).

The Daily Nation has learnt that the former hotelier has been approved to take up the position of chief executive officer of the new tourism body which went into operation last week, replacing the now disbanded Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA).

In the interim, the BTMI is being managed by Petra Roach, a former head of the BTA’s European operations.

Griffith holds a hotel management degree from the University of the West Indies, and was once a senior manager with Sandy Lane Hotel here before going to Bermuda where he is now said to be a household name in the island’s hospitality industry.

He was appointed Bermuda’s director of tourism in 2008 and on that occasion Premier Dr Ewart Brown said the country was fortunate to have him at the helm of its tourism.

He had previously served as president of the Bermuda Resort Hotels, president of the Bermuda Hotel Association, co-chair of the Bermuda Alliance for Tourism, and president of the Hotel Employers of Bermuda.

As a hotelier, he had been president of the Bermuda Resort Hotels, managing the operations of three hotels in the group.

Meanwhile, it is expected that the act of Parliament through which the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA), the other body of the two entities created to replace the BTA, will be proclaimed tomorrow.

A CEO is still being sought for the BTPA.