CARIBBEAN: Parle calls for more dialogue in tourism industry

Parle calls for more dialogue in tourism industry 
Web Posted - Tue Aug 26 2003

President elect of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) Berthia Parle has 
issued a challenge to CARICOM leaders, calling on them to aggressively pursue 
issues that will ensure the success of the region’s tourism industry. Parle, 
who has been meeting with other key tourism officials in the Caribbean, 
underlined the need for public/private sector dialogue in an effort to 
determine the path forward for CARICOM and non-CARICOM states, if the sector 
is to successfully progress. 
In light of regional and international events, Parle suggested that the 
region could potentially stand poised to benefit from such developments. She 
however stressed that in order for these benefits to be reaped, the region’s 
leaders must be unified and move forward earnestly. Among the main issues 
that will be on the table for discussion is the development of a sustainable 
funding formula for the tourism industry, as well as an instrument that would 
ensure increased and sustainable marketing strategies, which will be 
essential for the sector’s survival. 

The CHA executive also called on CARICOM leaders to recognise the CHA as 
CARICOM’s lead private sector group on tourism. To this end, Parle stressed 
the need for CHA involvement in policy discussions at the regional level, 
noting that to date the organisation had never been invited to, nor 
participated in CARICOM discussions at that level. 

She stressed that the CHA stood ready to play a meaningful role at such 
meetings, and further called for leaders to convene an annual tourism summit 
with both CARICOM and non-CARICOM heads. She went on to note that the 
underlying need is for governments to provide significantly more funding to 
the all important tourism sector, commonly accepted as the lead sector 
throughout the entire Caribbean. 


SOURCE: Barbados Advocate