SuperClubs, one of the most successful hotel brands in the Caribbean with a 30-year-plus experience in the industry, is defying the economic uncertainty with innovative ideas and far more expansion in the region and beyond. Quite recently the company tapped Paul Pennicook, a veteran of Air Jamaica and former Tourism Director for Jamaica, as president of International Lifestyle –SuperClubs’ worldwide representative. In this exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital, Mr. Pennicook talks about the challenges on the road ahead for his company and the plans in store for the near future.

The opening of a new airline is always welcome news to break, especially in times of economic and financial hardships that have forced so many competitors to ground aircraft, cut down on the number of flights and even shut down destinations. So, when Caribbean News Digital learned a new low-cost startup from one of the world’s leading outbound markets was planning to kick off operations between Europe and Latin America, a Q & A session with the new company’s CEO and COO brooked no further delay. In this exclusive interview, Olaf Schmidt talks about Air Cosmos’ approach, business intentions, marketing strategies and operational plans in the near future.

Jamaica attended FITUR 2009 with a large delegation headed by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and John Lynch, Director of Tourism and Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). In an exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital, Mr. Lynch talked enthusiastically about his country’s travel industry, its achievements and the prospects for the ongoing year. Mr. Lynch is confident in Jamaica’s potentials as a tourism powerhouse in the Caribbean and so far the numbers are proving him right.

Julia Hendry has put a 30-plus-year experience under her belt while working in the Caribbean’s travel and tourism industry, both in the private and public sectors. She’s one of the most authorized voices in the region in this respect and now that she’s ready to go into semiretirement, she’s also willing to share her valuable knowledge with the new breed of leaders. In this exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital, Mrs. Hendry, who’s still the European marketing director for CTO, reminisces about the past and looks to the future of Caribbean tourism in the face of economic hardships.

2009 will certainly be a challenging year for the world of travel and tourism, a realm in which the Caribbean is one of its centerpieces. That’s why one of the area’s main tourist organization –the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)- will go the extra mile to try make things right and pave the way for the full-blown rebound of the number-one regional industry that, as Alec Sanguinetti puts is, is expected to happen in the second half of 2010. About this and other issues, Caribbean News Digital talked exclusively with CHTA’s Director General and CEO within the framework of the FITUR 2009 fair in Spain’s Madrid.

2009 will certainly be a challenging year for the world of travel and tourism, a realm in which the Caribbean is one of its centerpieces. That’s why one of the area’s main tourist organization –the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)- will go the extra mile to try make things right and pave the way for the full-blown rebound of the number-one regional industry that, as Alec Sanguinetti puts is, is expected to happen in the second half of 2010. About this and other issues, Caribbean News Digital talked exclusively with CHTA’s Director General and CEO within the framework of the FITUR 2009 fair in Spain’s Madrid.