Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference slated for April in Bermuda

CORAL GABLES, FL – With record-breaking attendance and more than US$100 billion in investment in the Caribbean announced at the 2008 convention, the 13th Annual Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) seeks to build on this momentum and broaden the investment interest in the region. Slated for April 14-16, 2009 at the Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda, CHTIC will bring together hoteliers, tourism officials, developers, bankers, and other lenders to discuss and plan investment strategies for the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), the event’s organizer, is developing the conference program to include vital topics impacting today’s tourism marketplace. Session topic subjects will include:

– Outlook for the Caribbean
– New Capital/Equity Sources
– How to Develop and Operate a ‘Green’ Product
– Devising and Implementing ‘Green’ Destination Strategies
– Investing in the Caribbean
– The Resort/Vacation Ownership/Real Estate Component
– Managing Debt While Building a Hotel in Today’s Economy
– Asset Management and Value Preservation
– Putting Together the Timeshare/Fractional Deals

“As demonstrated at last year’s CHTIC, there is a strong interest in investing in the Caribbean region, and we are providing a forum for investors to hear about the opportunities available within our countries,” said Enrique De Marchena, president of CHTA. “Stakeholders attending CHTIC will hear about important ways in which they can develop their business from greening their hotel and destination, to managing their assets and property value,” De Marchena said.

“With the downturn in the economy on everyone’s minds, attending CHTIC becomes that much more important for all participants to both hear and share ways in which they can sustain their tourism product as well as invest in new opportunities,” De Marchena added.

CHTA will open registrations for CHTIC on February 1, 2009. Delegates can register for the conference via the CHTA website www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com, by sending e-mail to [email protected] , or calling 305-443-3040.

CHTIC was founded by CHTA and CTO in 1997 with the specific objectives of improving the tourism investment and operating climate in the Caribbean, raising awareness of development opportunities, and stimulating a continuing flow of equity and loan capital into the region.