Lorraine Ortiz-Valcarcel. Communications Director of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA)
<b> Q- How long have you been serving as communications director for the Caribbean Hotel Associations (CHA)? Are there any experiences or anecdotes worth underscoring? </b>
A- I joined the CHA team in the summer of ’97. I’d been serving in the same post at the Hotel & Tourism Association of Puerto Rico. Prior to that, I served a similar stint at the PR Office of the Puerto Rican Tourism Company. My career in the field of communications and tourism came into being twelve years ago in Spain where I worked as a communications official for the Puerto Rican Pavilion during the 1992 World Exposition in Seville.
A couple of years ago, I was being interviewed on a radio call-in show in eastern United States. I was trying to highlight the versatility of the region by mentioning instances of different activities in several destinations. The moment I brought up a certain destination, the host of the show stopped me all of a sudden. “No, that’s too ethnic. Better tell us about something more generic.” Of course, I was at my wits’ end right there in the middle of the interview because, you know, for me the delight of this region has to do with the diversity it has to offer, with the genuine and distinctive flavor of each and every destination. I’ve never been able to cotton on to that sterilized vision –just to put it somehow- of doing tourism.
<b> Q- We know that quite recently you won a well-deserved recognition for your successful job. What vital aspects of your work do you believe made you grab this award? </b>
A- I don’t see the press just as a mere means for good photo ops, but rather as a stakeholder, a key player in this industry. Mass media help spread ideas and sustainable practices that, in the same breath, could turn out useful for governments, the private sector and the civil society in making right decisions as far as tourism is concerned. So, one of my top priorities since I started working for CHA has been focused on the stimulation of regional news organizations, to urge them to get familiar (with the business), to get involved in the travel industry in the Caribbean, which is no doubt the powerhouse for the region’s growth and development.
Therefore, I feel very proud of the honor these journalists surprised me with, because now I know they gave this recognition based on my personal efforts in trying to involve the regional press in my job and make them aware of my work with the international mass media.
<b> Q- What working fronts have you set out to work on and why? </b>
A- My top priority right now is to make communities aware of the impact, either direct or indirect, of tourism on the economy and the social wellbeing of the region. The fact of the matter is that tourism stands for the number-one source of job creation and the major generator of hard-currency revenue for the Caribbean. This is an exporting industry we’re talking about.
Hand in hand with that goal, my second priority is the fostering of social responsibility among travel companies, especially in surrounding communities and locations.
<b> Q- What’s your view about the forecasts of tourist development for the Caribbean region in 2004 and the role CHA will play in those upbeat results? </b>
A- Optimism has been running high since the late 2003 and all indicators point that this is actually going to be a recovery year for the Caribbean after a three-year crisis. CHA counts on a marketing department that picks up all suggestions made by a committee made up of industry members, both from the private and public sectors.
The committee leads CHA’s participation in an array of initiatives aimed at boosting up the promotion of the region and the sale of the Caribbean trademark as a destination. We rely on such events as the Caribbean Marketplace, FITUR –in which CHA took part for the first time in 2004- ITB and WTM. We also find support in publications like the Caribbean Gold Book –the Caribbean Bible for travel agents- the Caribbean Travel Planner (a publication put out every half year with the help of the Caribbean Tourism Organization that targets consumers), and many others. The regional campaign Life Needs the Caribbean and its portal offering online bookings and reservations <b> (www.gocaribbean.com) </b> are two elements CHA and the private sector in general are very committed with.
On the other hand, the Association has just launched out a number of initiatives for the development of the groups, events and incentive meetings market that, according to a report entitled Meetings & Conventions 2002 Meetings Market Report, (that particular market) churned out in 2001 a grand total of $100 billion in expenses. Activities include a series of nonpermanent marketing presentations in tourist-sending markets and the publishing of a Caribbean guidebook for event and meeting planners.
