Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
PRESIDENT OF the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), Berthia Parle, in a scathing criticism of regional governments and their negotiating teams based in Brussels and Geneva, says they are not qualified to negotiate on the region's behalf.
"They have remained in the banana mode, as the service industry is a new ball game to them, and they think their major role is to attend cocktail receptions," she lashed out while speaking at the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Annual General Meeting yesterday at the Half Moon hotel in Montego Bay.
The 30-year tourism veteran lamented the poor state of representation of the tourism industry at the regional and international level a situation she has labelled as "frightening" owing to the fact that tourism is the lifeblood of the region's economy.
Addressing the large audience, which included Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, Aloun Assamba, the no-nonsense Mrs. Parle charged that there was not one recognised tourism specialist operating at the level of the Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM).
PUBLIC SECTOR BIAS
"The public sector cannot speak on behalf of the private sector in negotiations, as their bias is towards non tourism trading activities and
commodities like sugar, rum, rice and bananas, and in spite of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) ruling, they are still aggressively pursued."
Urging the regions' leaders to wake up and smell the roses, she told The Sunday Gleaner that her association was taking the initiative and considering appointing a lead ambassador to represent them in Brussels.
In the meantime, she says she is worried that enough attention is not being given to tourism within the economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations with Europe. The objectives of the EPA are to assist Caribbean states to develop and transform themselves to become internationally competitive and to provide timely, effective and co-managed
financial and technical assistance.
Mrs. Parle used the platform to alert hoteliers at the meeting to the several negative articles appearing in the United Kingdom press about hotels charging three times the rack rates and urging fans to boycott World Cup in the region and travel instead to Ashes in Australia.
The CHA president said she has also been reliably informed that broadcasters, sports and media personnel are planning a total boycott or sending a very small contingent as prices are way over their budget of maximum US$200 per room per night.
"I urge you to re-examine your press and team rates as failure to do so will portray us in a negative light and affect our future," urged Parle.
