CHA President Believes a Tourism Summit is Required

The President of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), Berthia Perle, has called on Jamaica´s Prime Minister, Percival J. Patterson, himself a former minister of tourism, to use his influence in persuading the rest of his CARICOM colleagues to convene a tourism summit to seriously look at the sector.

Perle believes there are a number of obstacles, which, in her view are seriously affecting the further development of the tourism industry in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and they must be removed, reported Caribbean Net News.

Perle said she had received a promise from Patterson he would try to convince his colleagues at the next CARICOM summit which is slated for Castries St. Lucia, about the need for holding such a summit.

While the World Travel and Tourism Council has forecasted a four percent growth in Caribbean tourism over the next 10 years, basically what they are saying is that if the Governments are to seriously consider the recommendations there should be no reason why we should not surpass the 4 percent anticipated growth, said Perle.

The CHA President admitted though that some of the WTTC recommendations were not new and that several of the issues raised were already addressed following the 9th of September incident in 2001.