Q & A with Emanuel SchreibmaierMarketing Director of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) and President of Caribbean Escapes

by Jose Carlos de Santiago

Getting a bigger slice of the European market –especially from Spain- and closer ties for exchange and cooperation with Spanish hotel chains –they have emerged as big-time investors in the region over the past three years- continue to be pending topics in the joint agenda of CTO and CHA.

However, Mr. Schreibmaeir says the Caribbean is looking to Europe and Spain like never before. And CHA will keep on going the extra mile with visits to those markets and putting far more faith in their investors.

Q.- How are CHA and CTO joint agreements faring right now as to their expansion across Europe and the opening of new markets?

A.- We’ve held a number of meetings and since Vincent Vanderpool took over as Secretary-General of the CTO he’s definitely given this initiative a new boost. Former CHA President Berthia Parle was invited on several occasions as a keynote speaker in a number of very important powwows and forums.

I think right now we’re in a process of tidying things up. We’re surely going to see more action in Europe and make no mistakes about the fact that out interest in other markets has not sagged at all. The Chinese market, for instance, is opening up and is interested in entering the Caribbean scene. We also have the huge Indian market, and we’re keeping a watchful eye on this one. But there’s no doubt in my mind that Europe is a key outbound market for all of us.

Q.- But inside Europe, Spain is a major exporter of tourism know-how. Last year, your organization said it was planning a meeting with the presidents of Spanish hotel chains in an effort to strengthen the ties. That meeting is yet to be held.

A.- To the best of my recollection, that meeting hasn’t taken place due to some difficulties in coordinating the appointments with the hoteliers. I was personally involved with all those hotel chains, even with Sol Melia, in order to hold talks in Majorca, Barcelona and Madrid. But it basically impossible to hold them or maybe we picked the wrong time to do that.

I understand that Tania Lazarus, who’s been working for CHA for over a year now, is resuming this issue because we pay tremendous heed to the involvement of Spanish hotel chains in the Caribbean, not only for commercial reasons, but also from the standpoint of staff training and hurricane protection and management.

As I said at the top of this interview, we’re implementing a number of changes within CHA, especially in terms of communications. Today, CHA operates in four different languages, the four main languages spoken in the Caribbean: French, Dutch, Spanish and English. All press releases are being translated into those four languages with the help of Lorraine Ortiz.

Q.- We still believe this is not only about Spanish hoteliers cozying up to CHA and CTO, but more about the fact that neither CHA nor CTO is trying to get closer to Spain through the London Chapter. We think those two organizations should attend FITUR, yet they do nothing and communication is off. On the other hand, CTO London issues press releases for Europe, but never for Spain.

A.- I believe CHA should attend FITUR in a more viable way than it’s done in the past. There’s a tremendous interest on the part of CHA, even though I must confess the CHA staff wasn’t much acquainted with the Spanish language in the past. However, that situation has taken a sea change. We’ve got personnel in Puerto Rico that speak Spanish fluently. I think time has come for CHA to make a real entry into FITUR.

Q.- In his initial promises, Vincent Vanderpool said he believed in the new investors, like Spanish businesspeople, that he knew the job they had been doing and that he was going to promote them. I have the impression that he hasn’t made good on those promises after two years in office.

A.- I can’t comment on that because that’s a CTO issue and I can’t speak for Mr. Vanderpool. To me, Mr. Vanderpool has done a great deal and has achieved a lot in these two years as CTO secretary-general. His job and his efforts have been very positive for the Caribbean. I think that we owe Mr. Vanderpool the accrued faith and confidence that all Caribbean heads of State now have in tourism and travel. Perhaps there’s still a long stretch of road to walk, but we need to be patient. Alex Sanguinetti and even Berthia Parle are looking to the Caribbean.