Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference Agenda

Coral Gables, FL (USA) – 28 February 2012 – The 16th Annual Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) is geared to emphasize the need for public and private sector partnerships in order to maximize investment opportunities in the Caribbean tourism industry. CHTIC is scheduled for April 24-26, 2012 at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The comprehensive conference program provides delegates with all of the necessary tools including attracting the capital from financial institutions and utilizing partnerships with the public sector. The program is designed to provide investors with ample opportunities in the region and put tourism related businessesin the best possible position as the economy continues to rebound.

“Tourism is our region’s number one economy and we must do everything to attract new tourism investment into the region to be able to expand our tourism product and therefore maintain our global competitive position as the world’s leading warm weather destination”, said Josef Forstmayr, president of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA). “This year’s Investment Conference program will be geared to jump start the investment opportunities in the tourism industry and will feature a varied program geared towards developing the necessary partnerships to achieve successful investments for all parties involved”.

CHTIC, organized by CHTA and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), attracts government officials, investment promotion agencies, hoteliers, investors, lenders, architects, planners, construction companies, financial organizations, real estate/mortgage intermediaries, developers, industry officials and other tourism entities.

Following are the general session topics and descriptions for CHTIC 2012:

Setting The Scene: Challenges, Potential And Opportunities – The Caribbean On The World Tourism Stage: Caribbean economies are significantly driven by tourism with 7 of the world’s 10 most tourism-dependent countries located in the region. This session will provide the tools and vital data to guide the discussions throughout the conference and identify opportunities for tourism development in the Caribbean.

Opportunities In The Caribbean Tourism Industry – Public And Private Sector Partnerships: A successful path ahead requires innovative solutions that integrate all major components of the tourism industry. Some of the best success stories in recent years involve partnerships between the public and private sector. A cross-section panel of Caribbean ministers of tourism and industry representatives will share their vision of investment opportunities in the region and policies required to encourage expansion.

From An Investor’s Perspective: This is a must attend session for anyone considering investment and expansion in the Caribbean. Our panel represents a group of leading hoteliers and developers who oversee an extensive portfolio of hospitality product across the region. From mega all-inclusive resorts to luxury high-end resort developments, this session will explore what drives investment and include a candid discussion on what motivated these companies to make significant financial commitments and recommendations for future development in the region.

The Managing Directors Check-In: Operating and managing the business interests of resort developers in the Caribbean can often entail oversight of multiple businesses ranging from hotels and real estate to spa and casino operations. The session will address today’s challenges and opportunities as well as highlight how panelists have been able to position their resorts for long term success. The experts will reveal strategies that have been proven successful as well as how these resorts are positioning themselves to ensure the highest returns.Conference delegates will also have the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions which are presented as three simultaneous presentations.

The breakout sessions include:

Shared Ownership – A Caribbean Opportunity: The shared ownership sector continues to thrive and grow across the region with major hospitality companies and independent hoteliers and developers reporting strong sales. This session will explore consumer interest in traveling to the Caribbean and the ongoing opportunity for timeshare and fractional development throughout the region.

Real Estate And Hospitality: Recognizing the global decline in the real estate industry, this session will examine the short and long term future for real estate in the Caribbean, and from a practical standpoint, how will it continue to interface with the regions hospitality product. Experts from across the region will share their insight and provide specifics relative to current supply and future development opportunities.

Strategies And Options To Deal With Troubled Assets: The reality is that there are so many troubled assets (loans, workouts, receiverships and bankruptcies) with magnificent potential. While most developers are looking elsewhere to start something new, this session will explore ways to capitalize on stalled projects and revive them successfully. Participants will receive insight on opportunities involving already built and partially built, but not in use properties that got stalled during the recent economic crisis.

Target Markets And Tapping Into New Opportunities: Traditionally, the Caribbean has looked to North America as its target market with the Eastern Caribbean attracting visitors from Europe, particularly the United Kingdom. Today, however, sources of inward investment are changing, economies from the target markets are in a downturn, and increased taxes are thereby reducing the number of visitors to the region from these key areas. The discussion will highlight how the region is being proactive to minimize the impact of these changes by tapping non-traditional markets.

The Power Of Branding: Join us to examine how international hospitality companies contribute to the success of the Caribbean’s tourism product. Questions that will be addressed include: Will branding enhance profitability and increase revenues? What works and why? What are the opportunities by size and segment? Is it possible to maintain a property’s individuality and unique attributes while leveraging the brand?

Capital Markets Outlook – Where Will The Capital Come From?: The future of further development of the hospitality and real estate industries in the Caribbean rests squarely on the shoulders of the lenders, banks and other financial institutions and sources of capital. We can plan, project and create wonderful opportunities but sourcing the funds will determine whether or not a project has the potential for success. This session goes right to the heart of this issue as we hear from the lenders directly and find out how they view the potential opportunities for development funding in the Caribbean.

The conference program also provides plenty of opportunities for delegates to conduct business through the speed networking, networking reception and networking lunches.

Registration for CHTIC 2012 includes all educational sessions, two receptions, two lunches and coffee breaks with registration fees as follows:

CHTA Member Hotels and Government Representatives

Regular registration: US$350 per person (until March 23, 2012)
Late registration: US$450 per person (after March 24, 2012)

CHTA Allied Members

Regular registration: US$775 per person (until March 23, 2012)
Late registration: US$875 per person (after March 24, 2012)

Non-Members

Regular registration: US$875 per person (until March 23, 2012)
Late registration: US$975 per person (after March 24, 2012)

Day Passes

Regular registration: US$750 per person (until March 23, 2012)
Late registration: US$850 (after March 24, 2012)

Hotel Accommodations & Airfare Discount
CHTA has arranged a special group rate of US$165 (ROH – single/double occupancy), available through March 29, 2012, at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino. Taxes and service charges are additional.

CHTA has partnered with American Airlines to provide conference delegates with a 5% discount off any applicable published fares listed on American Airlines, American Eagle and American Connection for travel to San Juan, April 21-30, 2012. Reservations can be made via www.aa.com or via the local reservations number using promotion code 8442BG.

Sponsorship Opportunities
Sponsorship opportunities starting at US$8,000 are available for companies seeking to elevate their presence at this prestigious event. Sponsors will be highlighted throughout the conference, as well as in CHTA’s marketing and public relations activities leading up to and following the event. The Sponsors’ Exhibit will also afford direct contact with representatives of sponsoring companies and will be open throughout the conference. For information about sponsoring CHTIC 2012, contact Gabi Doria at 305-443-3040 or email: gabi@caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.

CHTIC 2012 sponsors currently confirmed include Host sponsors: Puerto Rico Tourism Company and Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association; Patron sponsors: FirstCaribbean International, Interval International, KPMG and MasterCard; Gold sponsor: Best Western International; Platinum Media sponsor: Perspective Magazine; Silver Media sponsor: Lodging Hospitality; and Media Supporters sponsors: Caribbean Developer; HSyndicate and Latin America Monitor and Supporter sponsor: American Airlines.

Building on the momentum achieved in recent years with a growing interest in Caribbean tourism development, CHTIC is staged by two not-for-profit organizations – CHTA and the CTO. CHTA represents the regional hotel and tourism associations and CTO is the public sector tourism body which represents the countries of the region. All funds from the conference are reinvested in the region for the benefit of the Caribbean tourism industry. 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.

Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) facilitates the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members’ needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner. Celebrating its Golden Jubilee in 2012, CHTA is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region – and CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshaling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 725 member hotels and 375 allied members.

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Telephone: 516-594-4100