MIAMI, Apr 26, CMC – The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Tuesday said it has signed a three-year agreement with the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) association to expand the delivery of resources for members of both organisations.
It said the Memorandum of Understanding allows members to access finance and technology-related education on topics such as upscaling workforce automation and staffing, cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cybersecurity.
CHTA said that it is developing these master classes with experts being provided by HFTP.
CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig said that being technologically astute in a rapidly changing and challenging business environment is central to a robust tourism rebound in the Caribbean.
“We must be au courant in leveraging technological tools in driving operational efficiency, executing strong marketing campaigns as well as delivering new customer experiences.
“We need to be much smarter when it comes to the application of technology across the region – from artificial intelligence to big data,” she said, while expressing optimism concerning the potential impact this partnership could have on the region’s travel and tourism sector.
CHTA Director General, Vanessa Ledesma, described HFTP as a hospitality industry authority in the areas of finance and technology.
“This is such a great fit for CHTA,” she said, adding that more of the Caribbean can now be on the cutting-edge when it comes to implementing solutions to pressing challenges.
Like CHTA, HFTP leverages its experts, networks, research, certification programmes, information resources and conferences and events to benefit its members. HFTP also owns the world’s only hospitality-specific search engine, PineappleSearch.com, which centralizes highly fragmented industry information into a single, free-to-use platform.
“The strength of HFTP relies greatly on the reach of its global network, collectively building a broad knowledge base by sharing expertise and resources,” said HFTP chief executive officer, Frank Wolfe. “Partnering with CHTA and the Caribbean, a region well-known for its hospitality industry, is a significant step to connecting our shared efforts to support education and innovation.”
CHTA’s second vice president and chair of its technology task force, Sanovnik Destang, said the agreement between two organizations will bring many exciting benefits to members, including access to HITEC’s Entrepreneur 20x pitching competition.
“For the first time ever, Caribbean-based hospitality tech entrepreneurs will get to participate in this competition with the application fee waived. This is a great opportunity for our members and we look forward to more opportunities like this through our partnership with HFTP,” he said. (CMC)