State of the Industry & Region Address

Nicola Madden-Greig, OD, President, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and Group Director of Marketing & Sales,
The Courtleigh Hospitality Group

Olivier Ponti, Director of Intelligence &
Marketing, ForwardKeys

Keynote Address: Rethinking Tourism Development

The keynote address will outline the importance of the Travel and Tourism industry as one of the world’s largest economic sectors by internationally recognized tourism research body and will include industry trends and growth sectors with a focus on new and emerging technologies.

Doug Lansky, Travel Writer, Author & Destination Development Advisor

10:15 am – 10:30 am

Coffee Break

10:30 am – 11:30 am

Integrated Tourism Development Panel

Visioning a new tourism landscape: An in-depth discussion by the Government officials to include new market, products and experiences, sustainable integrated tourism development, air connectivity and use of technology and public sector policy.

Moderator: Nicola Madden-Greig, OD, President, Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association and Group Director of Marketing & Sales,
The Courtleigh Hospitality Group

Panelists:

• Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica
• Hon. Kenneth Bryan, Minister of Tourism & Ports, Cayman Islands, and Chair, Caribbean Tourism Organization
• John Bryant Collier (JB), Sustainable Development Program Leader, Caribbean Region, World Bank
• Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman, Sandals & Beaches Resorts

11:45 am – 12:45 pm

Under the Technology Microscope: The Caribbean Re-imagined

Creating a more enabling technology ecosystem for the Caribbean.  This session will examine programing and technology education at all levels, infrastructure and bandwidth investment.  It will also examine trending topics like AI, which affects everything, hyper personalization, mobile payments and upgrading our digital technology, privacy and cyber security and digital marketing to drive more direct bookings.

Moderator: Sanovnik Destang, President-Elect, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism
Association and Executive Director, Bay Gardens Resorts 

Panelists:

• Javed Samuel, Vice President, NCC Group Cryptography Services
• Delroy McLean, Senior Director for Enterprise, Government & Multinationals, Cable & Wireless Communications
• Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO, Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals (HFTP)

12:45 pm – 2:15 pm

CHTA Awards Luncheon 

Caribbean Destination Resilience Award

President’s Award for Caribbean Tourism Excellence Award

Special remarks from CHTA’s Strategic Partner Mastercard represented by Mayra Vivacqua, Cluster Lead at Mastercard Caribbean.

Special presentation by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Education Foundation

Announcement and presentation for the 2024 Caribbean Hotelier of the Year

Regional Sustainability and Resiliency Panel

This panel will outline the region’s current sustainability profile and requirements needed immediately and in the longer term.  The discussion will focus on how to sustainable practices at the policy, local, association, and organization levels and how to fast-track implementation.

Session Keynote: Sustainability: The Human Factor…..Preparing the Next Generation of Tourism Entrepreneurs

Opening Keynote by: Sheila Johnson, Founder and CEO, Salamander Collection

Moderator: Karolin Troubetzkoy, Chairwoman, Caribbean Biodiversity Fund and Executive Director, Marketing and Operations, Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain Resorts

Panelists:

• Lisa Hamilton, CEO, USVI Hotel & Tourism Association and President, Caribbean Society for Hotel Association Executives (CSHAE)
• Dr. Lisa Indar, Director, Surveillance Disease Prevention and Control Division, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)
• Sheila Johnson, Founder & CEO, Salamander Collection
• Matthew Samuda, Minister of Environment, Jamaica

3:45 pm – 4:45 pm

Marketing panel 

The panel will present a regional outline of select niche and geographic growth markets and review how to penetrate these markets to drive business to the Caribbean.  It will also discuss innovative strategies at both the destination and the organization level with a focus on leveraging our natural assets, culture and events. 

Moderator: Doug Lansky, Travel Writer, Author & Destination Development Advisor

Speakers:

• Audley H. Deidrick, President & Chief Executive Officer, Airports Authority of Jamaica & NMIA Airports Limited
• Carol Johnson, Sr. Principal Client Partner, Caribbean Destinations, Tripadvisor
• Laura Miranda, Client Services Manager at Mastercard Latin America and the Caribbean