POINTE BLANCHE,- Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Mingo of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies attended the 13th Annual Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference in Bermuda from April 14-16.
Commissioner of Harbour Affairs Theo Heyliger was scheduled to be a panelist for the session Cruise Industry Outlook; however he was unable to attend due to illness.
St. Maarten was invited by the conference organizers due to its premier position in the Caribbean a leading cruise destination. The island is used world-wide as a prime example of how a destination should develop.
The session was about where things are headed for this important sector of Caribbean tourism, and where are the opportunities for destinations, hoteliers, and the tourism industry as a whole.
"It was very important for the harbour to be present in order to hear from the professionals in the field of finance, economics and investment how things will be looking in the years ahead.
"The current global economic challenges are expected to continue for another 18 months before things start to look up. Everybody is hoping that it would be earlier, but every six month period would have to be reviewed to see if there are trends in the stock market, access to credit and what consumers are doing in order to determine whether the world economy is starting to recover from this crisis," stated CEO Mark Mingo of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies on Wednesday.
The conference is the leading forum for communication, networking and deal-making for the hospitality and tourism investment community in the Caribbean region.
The conference goals are to inform, enlighten and to provide time for networking experiences for the delegates to conduct their business face-to-face while at the conference.
Leading experts were also present to provide information on the outlook for investment in the region, new trends and opportunities, and solutions to challenges in development and ownership.
Those who attend are investors, hotel owners, lenders, hotel chain executives, developers, financial advisors, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, lawyers, designers, architects, tourism officials, timeshare developers, and government officials.