January 2017 | Business View Caribbean

52 53 caribbean hotel and tourismassociation That’s been absolutely necessary because we’re faced constantly with issues of high taxation and high costs of doing business in the Carib- bean, which have corresponding effects on our rates and our profitability.We have to be on top of that all of the time and work hard to make sure governments are aware of how policies and regulatory matters affect our industry and their economies. So, advocacy plays a very key role in everything that we do.We operate under seven guiding strategy objectives and right in there is advocacy and representation.” BVM: You also mentioned research and the dissemination of information as part of the Association’s mission. Any recent initiatives in that area? COMITO: “We’ve done research and position papers on the lifting of the U.S. embargo on Cuba and offered some positive and construc- tive ways in which individual jurisdictions in the region can address the impending changes. We’re finalizing an advocacy paper, right now, on the sharing economy–groups like Uber and AirBnB - and how they may be effectively inte- grated into the industry with standards, regu- lations, and some fair play on taxation, to not only protect the reputation of the industry, but also to help to develop that subsector of the accommodations sector, as well. BVM: The Zika virus has been in the news lately and it’s realistic to think that it will have an impact on travel and tourism in the region. How has the Association responded? COMITO: Early in 2016 CHTA quickly put into AT A GLANCE | The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association WHAT: Serving and representing the hotel and tourism industry in the Caribbean region WHERE: Coral Gables, Florida, USA WEBSITE: www.caribbeanhotelassociation.com