THE 26TH ANNUAL CARIBBEAN TOURISM CONFERENCE opens
in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, today with some 600 delegates,
including ministers, commissioners and directors of tourism; travel
agents; hoteliers; cruise operators; tourism suppliers; and other
industry professionals expected to attend. They are gathering at
the Marriott Frenchman's Reef Resort for three days of discussions
revolving around the theme, "Recovery and Growth in a Fiercely
Competitive Environment." Meanwhile, the latest statistics compiled
by the Caribbean Tourism Organization's research and information
management division indicate that stay-over arrivals to the region
increased by 3% in May, 6% in June and 6% in July, compared with
the corresponding months in 2002. Overall, the division estimated
that tourist arrivals for the summer increased an estimated 5% over
summer 2002.
IN A MOVE timed to coincide with this week's
26th annual Caribbean Tourism Conference in St. Thomas, the
Caribbean Hotel Association called for the resignation of longtime
CTO secretary general Jean Holder. CHA president Simon Suarez sent
a letter Friday to CHA, CTO and Caribbean Hotel Assn. Charitable
Trust [CHACT] officials, citing "recent actions" by Holder that led
the CHA executive committee to conclude "that it is no longer
possible to have the necessary confidence or trust" in Holder. The
letter cited Holder's call -- during a July symposium -- for a
CTO-CHA merger although "there was no prior consultation with CHA,
whose president and president elect were both in attendance." The
CHA also took exception to the CTO's Sept. 25 announcement about
launching a CTO booking engine, which the CHA saw as a swipe at the
CHACT regional marketing program, with its Expedia booking engine
at www.gocaribbean.com.
THE CTO, meanwhile, responded in a statement:
"We are proceeding with the business at hand in conducting our
affairs and will meet with CHA to discuss the situation." That
meeting, presumably, will take place during this week's CTO
conference. Many CHA executives are expected to attend the confab.
Obie Wilchombe, chairman of the CTO, expressed his unconditional
support for Jean Holder, to tourism ministers at the start of
CTC-26. "My support for the secretary general is unequivocal. I
stand with him -- any criticism of the secretary general is a
criticism of me," he said. "I applaud [Holder's] work and when his
departure from CTO comes it will be accompanied with dignity and
with the honor befitting a Caribbean statesman."
ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL SERIES of meetings planned for this
week's CTO conference in St. Thomas are multi-level talks among CTO
executives, tourism ministers and directors and government
representatives regarding a CTO proposal for a Caribbean-wide $20
cruise head tax on cruise passengers. Hugh Riley, CTO's director of
marketing, the Americas, said CTO's effort to finance a
"sustainable tourism fund has been ongoing for years. The region
needs a pool of resources, and a cruise head tax is one idea that
has been discussed as a public sector effort to raise money." Riley
explained that each of the 32 CTO member countries "has different
systems and answers to its own respective governments. This would
not be a government-mandated tax but a regional CTO initiative to
level the playing field." So far, with few exceptions, tourism
ministers were reluctant to commit their governments one way or
another regarding the tax. Stay tuned.
RATES & DATES
• Island Expeditions offers an adventure tour in Belize complete
with a night safari to observe the elusive jaguar. Travelers can
observe the 220-pound cats in the wild "while paddling through
protected rainforests in search of the endangered felines,"
according to the brochure. If jaguars are a no-show, howler
monkeys, keel-billed toucans and scarlet macaws reportedly lurk in
the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Reserve in southern Belize. The
nine-night adventure, which departs six times between Dec. 14 and
March 25, also features camping and kayaking on Belize's reef and
is priced at $1,899 per person, double. For details, visit www.islandexpeditions.com.
• Two Sandals Resorts are offering one-day complementary agent fam
trips from 10 Air Jamaica U.S. gateways to Sandals Montego Bay and
Sandals Royal Caribbean, both in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Dates are
Oct. 22 and 29; Nov. 5, 12 and 19; and Dec. 3 and 10. Call (800)
48-SPECIAL for details.
YOU KNOW A HOTEL is having problems when its
public relations firm drops it. That's apparently what happened to
the Chenay Bay Beach Resort in Christiansted, St. Croix. Kahn
Travel Communications, a pr agency that worked with the resort for
four years, said it severed all ties with the property. Richard
Kahn, agency president, said "following recent changes that have
taken place at the resort, we have serious concerns about a
reported lack of service which has created concern for guests and
media." The 50-room beachfront property, which offers cottage-style
accommodations and is geared to families, was in the midst of a
sale by owner and general manager Peter Locke to
Nevada-headquartered Sun Vacation Properties. However, the sale,
which was to have closed by September, fell through, according to
Kahn, and the resort stopped paying some bills.
AIR BYTES
• United Airlines continues its expansion in the Caribbean with its
launch of seasonal Saturday-only service from Chicago (O'Hare) to
Grand Cayman, Dec. 20 to April 20. The carrier currently serves
Aruba, San Juan and St. Thomas from Chicago. Daily nonstop A320
service between Washington (Dulles) and San Juan begins Dec. 15.
United currently flies weekend-only service from Dulles to San Juan
via St. Thomas.
• Continental will launch nonstop service Dec. 18 from Newark to
Barbados, pending government approval. The 737 flights will depart
Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
• American will begin nonstop daily service between Fort
Lauderdale, Fla., and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and
between Fort Lauderdale and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Nov. 1.
AAdvantage members can earn double miles for travel on these
flights through Dec. 15.
WHOOPS!
• The special package rate offered at Windjammer Landing Villa
Beach Resort on St. Lucia, based on a minimum six-night stay,
includes airport transfers and daily buffet breakfast but only one
Caribbean buffet dinner per guest per stay. The Caribbean E-letter
of 10/9 got piggy and reported two meals per day were included.
Sorry. Package details are available at www.windjammer-landing.com.