US Virgin Islands Hotel & Tourism Association

Barbados Hotelier Takes Over as New CHTA President

On June 22, Barbados hotelier Patricia Affonso-Dass took up office as the new president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.

Karolin Troubetzkoy, the regional trade association’s outgoing president, handed over the gavel to Affonso-Dass in an emotional transition at CHTA’s Annual General Meeting during which she was hailed for her personal contributions to the region during challenging times.

New President Affonso-Dass, Ocean Hotels in Barbados Group General Manager, thanked Troubetzkoy for her selfless efforts leading the association, while Grenadian hotelier Sir Royston Hopkin congratulated her on her steady leadership. “I would just like to say a sincere thank you for a job well done. I am very proud of you.”

Troubetzkoy expressed her appreciation for the good wishes of her colleagues. She will now serve both as chair of CHTA as well as of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Educational Foundation.

A true pan-Caribbean woman, Affonso-Dass, a graduate of Florida International University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, was born in Roseau, Dominica and lived in Trinidad and Antigua before moving to Guyana where she grew up. She has made Barbados her home for the past 20 years.

Affonso-Dass has been the president of both the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana and the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association and runs the Ocean Hotels group, which is a family-owned company with three unique hotels on the south coast of Barbados: Ocean Two Resort & Residences, the four diamond oceanfront venue on Dover Beach; The Sea Breeze Beach Hotel, the all-inclusive hotel on Maxwell Coast Road; and The South Beach Hotel, the chic boutique hotel near Rockley Beach.

She will serve as president of the association for the next two years.

Outgoing CHTA President Hailed for Contribution

As the fourth Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum gets under way in Miami this weekend, the CEO of the Caribbean’s largest private sector organization is paying tribute to one of its leaders for uniting the region in the aftermath of last September’s hurricanes.

Frank Comito, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association CEO and Director General, lauded the leadership of outgoing CHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy of St. Lucia for her protection and promotion of the Caribbean brand, and also for her personal and corporate support of destinations that were severely impacted by last year’s twin storms.

Speaking ahead of the official opening of CHIEF at the Hyatt Regency Miami, Comito described Troubetzkoy’s presidency as “pervasive and powerful” – from addressing the Zika epidemic, immediately upon taking the reins of the organization, to helping Caribbean people put their lives back together after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped communities apart.

“Looking back at the many successful rehabilitation and recovery initiatives, it is important to remember the selfless and untiring efforts of Karolin Troubetzkoy who has been a bold champion of our brand and our people,” Comito reflected.

Highlighting Troubetzkoy’s role in the launch of the “One Caribbean Family” initiative, which united hotels and businesses to do good, he added the initiative also underscored the fact that more than 70 percent of Caribbean destinations were not affected by the storms and were ready to welcome visitors so they, in turn, could help affected neighboring islands and their people.

“Those of us who are open for business are going to benefit from business that was meant for other islands … so we should try to give back,” Troubetzkoy implored last year, encouraging fellow hoteliers to support the Caribbean Tourism Recovery Fund, borne of the “One Caribbean Family” campaign.

The recovery fund, administered by the Tourism Cares organization, a nonprofit supported by the world’s leading tourism companies and organizations, was created to propel long-term recovery and strengthen the ability of impacted destinations to rebound as quickly as possible.

CHTA members and tourism partners within and without the region supported the fund, which raised more than a quarter of a million U.S. dollars, Comito reported.

Programs focused on training and education, restoring destination capacity, physical restoration of tourism-related infrastructure, social enterprise development, job creation, hotel training, voluntourism and the environment.

“It is especially humbling to be handed the reins by Karolin Troubetzkoy, an icon of our profession,” said Patricia Affonso Dass, incoming CHTA President. “Karolin went way beyond the call of duty – when she graciously agreed to start her tenure several months earlier – a wonderful bonus to have more of her bold approaches and her diplomatic clout enhancing our work. Her leadership and tireless work to support relief and recovery efforts comforted many. She led the charge in telling the world and our travel partners that much of the region was ‘open for business’ for which many in our region should be eternally grateful.”

For more information about Tourism Cares, visit www.tourismcares.org/caribbean.