CHATA recently participated at the 2015 Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association’s annual general meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. CHATA CEO, Ms. Lizanne Dindial attended the meetings representing Curacao, amongst all other Caribbean islands. The meetings focused on training of the island tourism executives, sharing of trends & developments of the Caribbean region and the Caribbean Market place with wholesalers. According to Ms. Lizanne Dindial, “one of the most important studies presented was the research done on what first comes to mind when thinking of the Caribbean. TravelZoo recently conducted a study on the visitors profile and the major conclusion still remains that all travelers choose a Caribbean destination for Sun, Sea and Sand. Beaches are #1 on the list as a priority when choosing to visit the Caribbean. Curaçao is part of this and we need to continue to make use of our beaches when selling our destination.” It is important to use our unique selling points such as history and culture as an add on to the experience, but our message to trigger the visitor still needs to include the Sun, Sea and Sand elements. Furthermore CHATA also attended the Market Place, where CAP, CTB and CHATA held meetings with the different wholesalers and airlines who currently sell or has air service to Curacao. 2015/2016 marketing programs were discussed and most importantly an update was given on the developments within the private sector. Developments include accommodation renovations, new restaurants offerings etc. Different wholesalers provided feedback in regards to our product offerings as a destination, which are all useful information for CHATA to use when communicating with our members. According to CHATA Marketing & Product Director, Miles Mercera – “It is important for us to make use of the feedback received, as we are still a tourism industry in development. On another note, it is great to finally hear that Airlift (to the destination) is not an issue for our wholesalers. We have seen extra air capacity being added, and it is now up to us to make use of the number of seats coming in to fill up our accommodation partners on island.” For 2015, we are changing the game. Fact is that every 4% growth in Tourism Stay-over Arrivals contributes to 0.7% growth in the total economy. Growth in stay over arrivals and progress in our industry is a shared responsibility of all of us. Let us continue to embrace this tourism industry