Top players in tourism head to Puerto Rico for major awards

The stage is set for the 40th Caribbean Travel Forum & Awards in San Juan Puerto Rico and some top players in the industry will be there.

Caribbean tourism stakeholders are currently making their way to San Juan for the annual event organized by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace, set to take place on Monday.

To be held at the iconic Caribe Hilton, the daylong event which precedes the official opening of “Marketplace”, is expected to focus on the business of tourism in the Caribbean and will include conversations about air connectivity and multi-destination marketing, sustainability, technology innovations, labor market constraints, and taxation.

Hospitality professionals, general managers, thought leaders, and government officials will provide insightful information relevant to the Caribbean travel and tourism industry, including sharing regional and international industry data insights and consumer and travel trends.

The forum will commence with “The State of the Regional Industry” addressed by CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig, followed by panel discussions on public-private partnerships in the tourism industry and breakout panels focused on sustainability and technology.

“We anticipate a robust series of solution-oriented discussions that will ensure that Caribbean tourism not only revives but thrives over the long-term,” promised Madden-Greig.

The CHTA president will be joined by Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Kenneth Bryan, who also serves as Minister of Tourism and Transport for the Cayman Islands; Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett; St. Lucia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Ernest Hilaire; Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico; Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman, Sandals Resorts International; Jeff Katz, CEO of Journera; and respected travel and tourism journalist Lebawit Lily Girma, Editor-at-Large at Skift.

During the awards presentation, CHTA will present the Chief Awards in the areas of Business Operations, Sales & Marketing, Human Resources & Staffing as well as Environmental Sustainability.

The regional trade association will also recognize the 2022 Caribbean Hotelier of the Year and present the inaugural Destination Resilience Award.