Thursday, May 16, 2013

True Blue Bay Resort Ranked #3 in Caribbean Best Small Hotels

Boutique hotels are all the craze now: A logical shift in a tourism market with increasingly 'experienced' travelers, confident enough to branch out from the all-inclusive holiday packages. As a result, boutique hotels are popping up everywhere, and the competition is fierce.

Grenadian hoteliers Russ and Magdalena Fielden are delighted to learn that their hotel was selected, and ranked #3 in the top ten Best Small Hotels of the Caribbean list published by Caribbean Journal. Added to their 2012 certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor, it shows they're on the right track. Following the publication of this accolade, the first thing the owners did was pass the compliment on to their employees, encouraging them to keep up the good work - which isn't a surprise since of the reasons the hotel was selected was, according to Caribbean Journal because, "The owners just know how to run a hotel - in the hands of others, it probably wouldn't be the same".

The article can be seen here:

http://www.caribjournal.com/2013/05/15/the-caribbeans-best-small-hotels-2013/3/


Friday, May 10, 2013

GHTA Hosts "Farm to Table" Cocktail Event at the Calabash Hotel

The Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association will be holding a social cocktail event at the Bash Bar by Mark B, Calabash Hotel 6 – 7.30 pm on Friday 10 May 2013. The theme of the event will be Farm-to-Table Tourism and is expected to show the linkage between Tourism and Agriculture.

The Prime Minister, Ministers of Government, farmers and persons in the fishing industry have been invited and have been asked to say a few words re the importance of the synergies between agriculture and tourism using statistics or ongoing success stories to highlight their points. They have also been invited to indicate any initiative or opportunities that will/could be undertaken to improve the linkages between agriculture and tourism, increase production of quality produce, or increase demand.

Executive Chef, Mark Banthorpe will speak on things unique about the fruits and vegetables, fish and meats produced in Grenada and the amount of local produce purchased directly from farmers and fishermen.

Tickets to the event are available for purchase by members at the GHTA office at a cost of EC $40. Please note that tickets must be paid for upon collection at the office and only persons with tickets will be allowed into the event.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association Thanks Ethical Ideas

GHTA Newsletter, May 2013 - "The Economic Recovery Plan, for which the GHTA received funding from the Government of Canada, was completed at the end of March. A copy was handed over to the Prime Minister at his first quarterly meeting with the Grenada Private Sector Organization in April. Copies have also been handed to the Minister of Tourism and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism. Electronic copies have been e-mailed to members and will be posted on the members section of the Association’s Corporate Website.

The GHTA is grateful to the Government of Canada who funding made this document possible and to consultant Jennifer Alexis of Ethical Ideas for the hard work she put into completing the document in a very limited time frame.

The document will be used as a core communications tool with Government, stakeholders, and agencies, which would harmonize the efforts of all stake holders approaches to economic recovery in Grenada, in an informed and focused way".

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Ethical Ideas Raises another million for clients

Ethical Ideas is pleased to announce that a grant funding request to Compete Caribbean has ascended to the next level of consideration with a USD $50,000 grant to prepare a Cluster Competitiveness Improvement Plan (CCIP). The plan, when completed, will be presented to an investment panel to obtain up to USD $500,000 for implementation. The successful application was predicated upon a grant proposal to implement the Hotel Sector Economic Recovery Plan funded by the Canadian Government and drafted by Ethical Ideas.

In addition, Ethical Ideas has recently learned that another Caribbean Fund is in the final stages of approval (awaiting Board Signature) with a value of USD $300,000. This grant is particularly valuable to the hotel sector, because it involves grant funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy investments. This kind of pragmatic, results oriented investment is rare from donors, who generally prefer to spin wheels with consultants rather than investing money on tangible change making activities. You can rest assured that when this fund is officially launched - I will be posting and raving about this donor!

Combined, the value of these two grants will be in excess of XCD $2 million with even more funds expected that are still in the early stages of the approval process. By the time all the grants come in, the Hotel Sector should have access to XCD $10 million to support economic recovery and energy use reduction.

The best news of all is of course that Grenada's hotel sector is one step closer to their zero carbon goal, and that this environmental solution is directly linked to economic prosperity. The Hotel Sector will be ending this great week with a cocktail party that brings stakeholders from tourism and agriculture together to strengthen the links between the two sectors. Sustainable initiatives that are just 'happening' more than being initiated are so thrilling!