54 February 2016 - Business View Caribbean
mas and had over a thousand participants. That’s the
region’s premier gathering to do business. We bring
suppliers– suppliers being the hotels throughout the
region, some of the local tour operators, attractions,
and providers - together with buyers, which include,
primarily, leading tour operators and wholesalers from
around the world, for two days of intense appointments
for buying, selling, negotiating, making new contacts,
and so on. We have an education component layered
in that’s very much directed to sales and marketing
kinds of training and support, and this year, we also
had 14 ministers or heads of tourism in governments
throughout the Caribbean join us. So, that’s the pri-
mary event.
“We also do an event called CHIEF, the Caribbean Hos-
pitality Industry Exchange Forum, which is very much
professional development and education-oriented.
We started that event last October in Puerto Rico and
it was very successful – the feedback was terrific. In
that, we have household names from every kind of
company imaginable doing workshops and seminars
for our people, and a buying element for our allied
members with a tradeshow component to it. We’ll be
repeating that again, this year, in the same location,
the first couple of days in October.
“We also do an event called “Taste of the Caribbean.”
We’ve been doing that for over 20 years. It’s held in Mi-
ami and is a combination of a couple of things, includ-
ing a competitive culinary event for the chefs. We have
chefs from national teams throughout the Caribbean
who come together for three days of intense competi-
tion for the rights of calling themselves the Caribbean
Culinary Team of the Year, the Chef of the Year, the
Pastry Chef of the Year, the Bartender of the Year. It
follows international standards in judging and there’s
a range of awards that are offered. Woven around that
event are several other related events, showcasing cu-
linary and cultural aspects of the Caribbean. We have
education sessions for professional development for
chefs, and food and beverage managers, and other
personnel in the F & B industry. And we also have a
consumer component, where the public’s invited,
called “Taste of the Islands.” It’s a Caribbean tapas
event with music and festive atmosphere. We have
various countries throughout the Caribbean showcas-
ing some of their best, national dishes.
