The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is heading into the 2022-2024 biennium with a new slate of vice presidents in support of current President Nicola Madden-Greig of the Courtleigh Hospitality Group in Jamaica.
At the organization’s annual general meeting last month, St. Lucian hotelier Sanovnik Destang, the executive director of Bay Gardens Resorts Group, was confirmed as the new first vice president. The award-winning Destang is a chartered accountant, a chartered financial analyst and a former president of the Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association.
Gregor Nassief, the newly confirmed second vice president. He is chairman & CEO of GEMS Holdings Limited, which owns the popular Secret Bay and Fort Young Hotel in Dominica. Nassief previously served as deputy chairman of Discover Dominica Authority and president of the Dominica Hotel & Tourism Association.
The new 3rd vice president is Federico Moreno-Nickerson, vice president of Development for AMResorts/Apple Leisure Group. Originally from Mexico, Moreno-Nickerson has served on CHTA’s Executive Committee since 2017. His vast experience of over 30 years in the hospitality industry includes being a founding member of the World Heritage Alliance between Expedia Inc. and the United Nations Foundation.
Paola Rainieri de Diaz has been named CHTA’s 4th vice president. She is the past president of the Hotel and Tourism Association of the Dominican Republic (ASONAHORES) and a chief marketing officer for Grupo Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
Bill Clegg, a long-time supporter of CHTA, will continue to serve as 5th vice president. As regional director of Franchise Development at Best Western Hotels & Resorts, he is responsible for the mid-Atlantic and Caribbean regions. Prior to that, he served for more than two decades in various executive leadership roles with Choice Hotels.
Jim Hepple, the proprietor of Tourism Analytics, whose tourism experience spans the length and breadth of the Caribbean, remains treasurer of CHTA. A former president and CEO of the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association, the Aruba-based Hepple has served numerous tourism agencies in the region at the highest executive level.
“I look forward to working closely with these incredible leaders,” said Madden-Greig, who explained that they represent a group with the right combination of “expertise, experience and energy” to take the regional association forward over the next two years.
Madden-Greig, who has served the association with distinction over the past year – including leading CHTA’s production of the 40th Caribbean Travel Marketplace in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as mounting the first annual Caribbean Travel Forum – said emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic there is greater recognition of the need to embrace continuous learning, collaboration and innovation to take Caribbean tourism to the next level.
“It is the intention of the CHTA executives in 2023 to forge new partnerships towards tackling the climate crisis, leveraging technology and shepherding more Caribbean entrepreneurs along the path towards sustainable wealth creation across the region,” Madden-Greig said.
