CHTA Appoints Regional Vice Presidents for 2014-2016

caribbean beachEmil Lee, president of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), has enhanced his executive committee by adding three Caribbean tourism industry professionals who will serve as regional vice presidents during his presidency.  

Lee has appointed Sanovnik Destang, executive director of Bay Gardens Resorts in St. Lucia, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, founder of Bedford Baker Group in The Bahamas and Warren Binder, president of Creative Travel Consultants in Florida.  

These three individuals will hold their posts for the 2014-16 biennium along with Lee, the new slate of officers that were elected in July and two other regional vice presidents Lee appointed that month, Clarisa Jimenez, president and CEO of the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association (PRHTA), and Jose Rivera Campos, vice president of development for AMResorts in Cancun.

A chartered accountant and chartered financial analyst by profession, Destang has served since 2008 as the executive director of Bay Gardens Resorts, an award-winning locally owned hotel chain in Rodney Bay Village, St. Lucia. When Destang took over, the chain was facing declining occupancy, rate reductions and increasing operating costs which contributed to significant financial losses for the group. Under Destang's leadership, the group was able to return to profitability using a combination of innovative online marketing methods, combined with a focus on active yield management and product enhancements aimed at boosting average daily rates. 

Vanderpool-Wallace's Bedford Baker Group is a collection of independent professional advisors who provide services in travel, tourism and hospitality. Previously, Vanderpool-Wallace's work in the Caribbean tourism industry includes minister of tourism of the Bahamas as well as the country's director general, secretary general and CEO of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and co-president of Resorts International, which at the time was the largest private company in the Bahamas.

Binder formed Creative Travel Consultants in 1970 and his experience includes more than 40 years of active involvement in the tourism industry, including senior sales, marketing and management positions in both large and small organizations operating in the Caribbean, Bahamas, United States and other international markets. He has been contracted by the private and public sectors to assist in the evaluation, development, implementation and managing of resort development, sales, marketing, reservations and communications programs for hotels, resort properties, destinations, airlines and tour operators.

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