Alec Sanguinetti Steps Down from CHTA
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) announced that Alec Sanguinetti is retiring as Director General and CEO after 19 years in executive positions with the organization and 52 years as one of the tourism industry's top airline and hotel executives.
Richard Doumeng, president of CHTA, said that a search committee is being formed to find a replacement for Sanguinetti who will step down as of Jan. 31, 2013 following Caribbean Travel Marketplace.
"October 1, 2012 marked 52 years for me in the travel and tourism industry and the last 19 years with CHTA have been among the most enjoyable," said Sanguinetti. Alec Sanguinetti low resolution
"I have had the opportunity in working with CHTA to be involved with the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry which is a far more encompassing and broader playing field than working with any single entity such as an airline or destination," he said, adding: "I had the opportunity to meet and work with wonderful and dedicated individuals from whom I have learned such a great deal."
Sanguinetti was only the second CEO for CHTA in the association's 50-year history. He originally joined CHTA as Deputy Director General in 1993 working closely with John Bell, the association's first CEO. He was named Director General and CEO in 2003.
Sanguinetti's career began in the airline industry in 1960, with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British West Indian Airways (BWIA). He was responsible for the start up and running of Jamaica Air Service and then involved in the startup of Air Jamaica in 1969 where he served as Vice President Marketing until 1976.
In 1977, Sanguinetti joined the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism as Director of International Sales & Marketing and in 1980 was appointed Managing Director of Cayman Airways.
"We are indebted to Alec Sanguinetti for his tireless dedication to the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association and tourism in general in the Caribbean," said Richard Doumeng. "He has led our organization through some very difficult times and enabled us to remain a strong and viable force in Caribbean tourism and he has done it with empathy, wit, style and grace," Doumeng said.
"He helped to pave the way for a much improved relationship between the private sector and our government counterparts in tourism which has resulted in the establishment of the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTC) and our joint website CaribbeanTravel.com," Doumeng said, adding: "We wish Alec and his amazing wife, Flavia, all the best and we know that they will remain part of our CHTA lives."
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) facilitates the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members' needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner. Celebrating its Golden Jubilee in 2012, CHTA is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism.
Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region - and CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshalling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 600 member hotels and over 300 allied members.
