50 February 2016 - Business View Caribbean
The Caribbean Hotel and
Tourism Association
Serving and representing the hotel and tourism industry in the caribbean region
Recently, Business View Magazine talked with Frank
Comito, the CEO and Director General of the Caribbean
Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA). The following is
a transcript of a wide-ranging discussion that touched
on many issues and activities in which the Association
is engaged:
BVM: Can you give me some background on the his-
tory of the Association and how it may have changed
and grown over the years?
“The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association was
originally called the Caribbean Hotel Association. It
was founded in 1962, as part of a federation of na-
tional hotel and tourism associations in the region at
that time. And we continue, to this day, being a fed-
eration of 32 national hotel and tourism associations
with all of our respective memberships drawing from
that number, as well as individual members we garner
from international sources. It was founded, originally,
to help market the industry and to work collaboratively
on issues that affect its ability to drum up business.
So a lot of its emphasis, in the early stages, was on
marketing. But as time evolved, in the late ‘70s, ‘80s,
and early ‘90s, its mission expanded into other areas,
in particular: advocacy, research and information dis-
semination, workforce development, and overall prod-
uct development. And that expanded mission contin-
ues to today.
