CARIBBEAN: American Airlines Executive Wants Greater Caribbean Collaboration

For Immediate Release
  
Contact: Bevan Springer 201 861-2056 
              bevanspringer@nj.rr.com
 
Photograph of Mr. Bob Troni available at 
http://www.mediaexchange.info/tmp/DSC4832.asp
 
AMERICAN AIRLINES EXECUTIVE WANTS GREATER CARIBBEAN COLLABORATION
 
MIAMI (August 21, 2003) – The Caribbean has more to offer than any place in 
the world, and tourism officials ought to strengthen their collective 
approach to regional marketing, says a senior executive at American Airlines 
(AA). "We feel it's imperative for the region to work together," said Bob 
Troni, AA's Managing Director of International Sales and Marketing, at a 
recent Caribbean tourism conference.
 
Troni argued that there's much diversity and wealth of opportunity in the 
region, but that a continued pooling of resources will be necessary to stay 
ahead of the competition. "Asia is going to be doing it very well ... there 
will be no differentiation between China, Japan, Vietnam and Korea," said 
Troni, explaining that these nations will spare no effort to recapture lost 
business from the SARS epidemic. Same thing with Europe, he said, as the 
European Union strengthens cooperation among member nations. "We are not 
saying to not promote yourself, but to promote yourself first as a region, 
and then within that region, look at what we have to offer ... there is more 
to offer in the Caribbean as a region than anywhere else in the world," said 
Troni.
 
The airline executive, who has been an active player in the recent launch of 
the Caribbean's advertising campaign, said he was pleased with the progress 
of the initiative, but wants every piece of material coming out of the region 
to be stamped with the GoCaribbean theme. "The GoCaribbean.com (website) 
should be the entry point for everyone. Once they come in the door that 
represents the whole region, then the unique product of each country emerges, 
providing the consumer with numerous choices," he explained.
 
Troni is upbeat about the Caribbean and indicated that his airline will 
sharpen its focus on the region this winter. "We're going to beef up the 
Caribbean this winter big time," he said, to take advantage of some pent up 
demand in the United States. "I do not see us adding new cities, but I see us 
adding more capacity," giving as an example the addition of more US flights 
that feed the Caribbean via the Miami hub.
 
American Airlines has been a strong supporter of the Caribbean and a decade 
ago contributed one million US dollars to launch the region's advertising 
campaign. This summer, Troni was recognised as the Caribbean Hotel 
Association's (CHA) "Allied Member of the Year" for his great generosity and 
dedication to the region and for working towards the success of CHA and its 
members.  "Bob has been working with and for the Caribbean for more than 30 
years," said Alec Sanguinetti, CHA's Director General and CEO.  "His efforts 
have reached a zenith in the extraordinary role he has had with the Caribbean 
Hotel Association Charitable Trust (CHACT)," he added.
 
The CHACT is a successful public/private sector alliance, uniting major hotel 
chains, airlines and credit card companies with the Caribbean Tourism 
Organisation, CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and non-CARICOM nations. Last 
fall, CHACT launched a multi-million dollar campaign to market and promote 
the region as a single destination. 
 
CARICOM heads of government have reiterated the importance of the tourism 
sector to the Caribbean economy and they recently reaffirmed the need to 
establish a Sustainable Tourism Development Fund to facilitate the 
implementation of a strategic plan for tourism, and supported the effort to 
mobilize the resources for the Fund.

www.GoCaribbean.com allows the region to play a full role in the entire 
distribution channel of Caribbean vacations, rather than just focusing on the 
delivery of a product. Consumers and travel agents alike can now book 
airlines, hotels and other Caribbean properties at bulk or heavily discounted 
rates. 
  
Bookings on www.gocaribbean.com currently cover both vacation packages (air 
and hotel) and hotel room nights. Reservations also can be made by telephone 
using the 1-888-CARIBBEAN toll free service. Three hundred and ninety-seven 
(397) hotels, offering more than 86,000 rooms, are available for bookings.  

Eighteen destinations participate in CHACT's marketing campaign: Antigua and 
Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, 
Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. 
Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and the 
United States Virgin Islands.
 
Travel agents in North America can earn website commissions and toll-free 
customer support for agents is available at 1-888-724-6413. 
  
For further information, contact CHACT Program Director Chris Sharpless Jr. 
at 305 443-3040 or csharpless@chahotels.com .
 
ENDS