Businesswoman Shelly Williams is the new chair of the Board of Directors for the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) and the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA).
Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Senator Lisa Cummins, made the announcement on Friday in a media release, and also thanked the outgoing Board.
The deputy chairman is Wayne Capaldi, managing director of Sandpiper Hotel.
The members who take up their appointment from March 11 are:
Shelly Williams – CEO, Platinum Services Limited; Board Chair
Wayne Capaldi – Managing Director, Sandpiper Hotel; Deputy Board Chair
Ronnie Carrington – Producer/Director of Photography and Videography; Member
Iain Thomson – Executive Director, FXI; Member
Terry Hanton – Managing Director, Altman Barbados; Member
Sade Jemmott – Consultant, Sade Jemmott Consulting; Member
Chiryl Newman – Owner, Champers Restaurant; Member
Permanent Secretary – Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, or nominee, Member
Chair, Intimate Hotels of Barbados, or nominee, Member
Chief Executive Officer, National Cultural Foundation, or nominee, Member
Chair, Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, or nominee, Member
“On behalf of the Board, I want to express our gratitude to Minister Cummins for the establishment of a diverse and strategic business-focused team,” Williams said. “We are looking forward to working with the talented BTMI and BTPA staff to take tourism forward at this critical time as we emerge from a challenging two years. Our focus will be on exploring new avenues for tourism development across our source markets, while developing our product to meet global trends and consumer demands.”
Meanwhile, Cummins said she was confident the Board had the required skills and expertise “to strategically lead the BTMI and the BTPA into a new era of transformation punctuated by increased private sector partnerships, external investment and collaboration and holistic product development that will benefit Barbados and all Barbadians”.
She pointed out: “One of the key things that we have seen over the course of COVID-19 is that the structure of our tourism sector has been in need of transformation, so we’re going to be seeing a number of legislative reviews and policy frameworks evolving from this new incarnation.”
“In addition, we are looking to include a broader number of stakeholders in the decision-making process, therefore you will see the incorporation of our small hoteliers with the Intimate Hotels of Barbados; the inclusion of a seasoned restauranteur, as the restaurants sector has only so far been represented in legislation by hotels attached to restaurants; and the incorporation of community tourism experts as Barbadians must be our first tourists, and we know that visitors are coming here for local Barbadian experiences.”
Top of the Board’s agenda will be shaping an inclusive and sustainable tourism landscape for Barbados with an emphasis on balancing investment and business development with sustainable growth. This is critical as the BTMI moves toward a public-private-partnership (PPP) model. (PR/SAT)