The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has said that it will be engaging the use of online roundtable discussions as part of wider efforts to accelerate the rebuilding of the Caribbean’s tourism sector. This as the organisation seeks to ensure that the region emerges from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic stronger than it was before the industry was brought to a virtual standstill.

CHTA President Patricia Affonso-Dass said that the main aim of the initiative is to bring together CHTA members, non-members and all those invested in the industry’s future in order to chart a way forward.

“Our collective ideas, increased engagement – both at a national and regional level and at all levels of our organisations – and an active relationship with our public sector colleagues and agencies, as well as those in health, will be critical to our being able to survive and more importantly, thrive, after COVID,” she said in a news release yesterday.

The roundtables, which began last week, are expected to be held every Friday over the next five weeks. Through the gathering of peer groups via the Zoom conferencing platform, the forum will allow for brief industry updates from leaders across the region and also for participants to share candid dialogue on challenges, successes, and best practices.

The CHTA president in underscoring the importance of the roundtables, asserted that the rebuilding and reimagining of the sector depends on everyone.

“This is a time for out-of-the-box thinking, dreaming big, keeping our eyes firmly fixed on the future – it presents us with an amazing opportunity to define what we want our businesses and our region to look like for the coming years,” she said.

Affonso-Dass further urged roundtable participants to challenge established ideas and freely share concerns and challenges. “This is our association, our region, our industry and it is up to us to ensure that we come out of COVID better and stronger than we were before this all began,” she encouraged.

Frank Comito, chief executive officer and director general of the CHTA, also strongly endorsed the roundtables as an effective platform noting that they presented “a unique opportunity to become a part of the solution of “building back the Caribbean”.

“This consultative process is one that not only helps to define current needs, but also helps stakeholders to engage with #MyCHTA and help the association work for them,” Comito added.

Hotel owners, managing directors, general managers and human resources leaders; hospitality and tourism allied members and suppliers; tourism business leaders affiliated with restaurants, attractions and other activities; and other tourism stakeholders are being invited to participate in various virtual discussions.

Since the pandemic, CHTA, the backbone of the region’s hospitality sector, has moved its educational sessions online and has successfully hosted more than 20 editions of CHTALive: The Resilience Series, as well as other health and safety series aimed at providing a response to the pandemic.